Every Inch of My Love
by brookemopolitan
Summary: It started with rose embroidered Doc Martens and a Led Zepplin song. For A Different Rachel challenge, and now extended..Puckleberry, eventual Finn/Quinn, and Rachel/Quinn friendship... COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Hey all, I'm having a go at Emmacat1234's fic challenge:

**Prompt: A Different Rachel**

**Pairings: Rachel/anyone**

**Genre: You can choose**

**Rating: T-M**

**Other: Rachel sings a different kind of song in glee club. Something sexier, author's choice really.**

This is set after sectionals on the show, and pre In _The Summertime _, but it will most probably reference events present in that fic... it's my little twist on canon so feel free to check that out. Be warned, I recently reexperienced the joy that is the BBC version of _Pride and Prejudice_, and can't help but see Puckleberry comparisons now.

Well, my parents said I can have whatever I want for my twenty first birthday... does rights to Glee count? I already own two copies of P&P, nor do I own any of the songs mentioned.

***

Rachel walked into the choir room. Quinn was still very obviously putting space between herself and both Puck and Finn. Things were still pretty shaky there, especially when Rachel had driven Quinn to Finn's house in her daddy's Range Rover to pack up Quinn's things so that she could move into the Berry's spare room. Rachel plunked herself next to Quinn. She was not going to stare at a certain Mohawked Jew; that was for certain. Rachel had pulled a stunt worthy of Elizabeth Bennet that day at the bleachers, and there was no chance that she was could wander around a pretty house, see Puck in a wet shirt and make him realise that she still wanted him. She stifled a sigh.

Mr Schue walked in, two hats in his hand.

"Here we go guys. Regionals are on their way, and I have a plan for us to find our next number. You will each prepare a number, as pulled from this hat here. The twist is, you'll be performing a number that is traditionally performed by an artist of the opposite sex. This is a competition guys, so keep your numbers to yourself. I want costumes and the full works...Yes Rachel?" Mr Schue hadn't even looked at Rachel; he'd just assumed she'd have something to say. She did.

"I just wanted to check, are we free to rearrange the piece as we see fit?" Mr Schue nodded.

"You can also change the lyrics if necessary, but don't totally change the song! Girls go to the green hat, guys to the straw one. Kurt, you are a guy!" Mr Schue called out. Rachel looked at the slip of paper and saw the song printed on it. This was a challenge and a half. It was totally out of her depth. She squared her shoulders. She could do this. Her name is Rachel fucking Berry. If she couldn't totally rock this, nobody else could. Showing Mr Schue the slip of paper in her hand, she picked up the sample CD and the sheet music. She was so absorbed in scanning the sheet music (she'd have to transpose it up several keys, but that was ok) that she ran smack into somebody. She looked up and immediately began to flame bright red.

"Sorry Puck "She mumbled, and quickly fled over to the corner, where she slipped the CD into her Macbook and began to listen to the song.

***

Quinn knocked lightly on Rachel's door, and walked in. Rachel was sprawled across her bed, a tattered copy of _Pride and Prejudice _and sheet music scattered around her.

"Hey, I know that we aren't supposed to be telling each other about what song we're doing, but I can't get it to sound right. Do you think you could help me?"Quinn was well aware of the jaded history she shared with Rachel, so she was still in shock she was living under the Berry roof (even after her father had told Rachel's parents that God hates fags), so asking Rachel for anything made Quinn keenly aware that she could end up homeless again. Rachel sat up.

"Yeah no problem. The basement just got resoundproofed, so we should probably head down there" and as if it was the most normal thing in the world, Rachel linked arms with Quinn and they walked down to her basement. Rachel took a seat.

"Ok, I'm gonna ask you to run it through for me, and we'll go from there ok?" Quinn nodded. She hit play on the CD and began to sing. Rachel closed her eyes and listened, and managed not to giggle. The song suited Quinn so well it was uncanny. Quinn finished singing. Rachel nodded.

"Ok, get me sheet music. I can hear exactly where you're going wrong."Taking the sheet music, Rachel walked over to her piano, and set the music out. She tinkered with the keys for a moment. She played a sequence.

"This is the issue. This is how it's supposed to sound. Try sliding into the note a little more; it should make it a lot easier." Rachel worked with Quinn for close to an hour, and Rachel was impressed with what she heard.

"How's your song going?"Quinn asked. Rachel grimaced.

"The song itself isn't the problem. I can sing it just fine. Let's just say that the theme of the song is pretty darn similar to _Push It._"Quinn nodded.

"Ok, so performance is the issue. That's cool. Now it's your turn to let me sit down, because my ankles are all puffy, and you're gonna sing."Quinn took a seat. Rachel could see that she was trying to be friendlier, and decided that she should probably try and reach out to her housemate. She changed the CD over, and began to sing.

"Rachel, it sounds awesome. You just need to let out your inner Hayley Williams and rock out! This song is a freaking classic, and you're gonna have a certain audience member drooling after you're finished after this. In fact, directing this towards a certain audience member would probably help" Rachel's head snapped up.

"Oh my gosh, you don't think I'm still all drooly over Finn do you? He's not even on my radar anymore!"Rachel was well aware that Finn and Quinn were on very tentative speaking terms, and she wasn't going to screw that up. Quinn smiled.

"Don't panic Rach, I know you and Finn are a thing of the past. That wasn't who I was talking about anyway." Rachel coloured.

"Anyway, you two should really get off your high damn horses and do something about the raging sexual tension between you. You're starting to rival Jennifer and Colin. Just promise me you'll try and channel it into the song so we can talk costume!" Rachel and Quinn talked costume for an hour and a half, and Rachel began to realise, that just this once, it was amazing to have a friend she could just confide in.

***

Rachel walked into school early. Quinn was getting a ride with Finn (progress, progress, Rachel was silently cheering for them), but Rachel figured that she'd go hide her costume from the slushie attacks that had been happening of late, and get some practice in on the huge stage. She would be playing with the band, but she figured she should get used to the amount of space she had to unleash her inner rock goddess. Opening the door to the auditorium, she was met with the sound of a baritone voice and gentle accompaniment on the guitar. She froze as she heard the lyrics flooding the room

_When I was younger  
I saw my daddy cry  
And cursed at the wind  
He broke his own heart  
And I watched  
As he tried to reassemble it_

And my momma swore that  
She would never let herself forget  
And that was the day I promised  
I'd never sing of love  
If it does not exist

But darlin,  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception

Rachel knew this song. The lyrics were hauntingly familiar, and yet she couldn't place why she knew the song.

_Maybe I know, somewhere  
Deep in my soul  
That love never lasts  
And we've got to find other ways  
To make it alone  
Or keep a straight face_

And I've always lived like this  
Keeping a comfortable, distance  
And up until now  
I had sworn to myself that I'm content  
With loneliness

Because none of it was ever worth the risk, but  


CRAP! This was a song originally performed by a woman. She'd just walked in on Puck's rehearsal for the competition. This felt so much like cheating, but Rachel just couldn't force herself to turn around and leave; so she took the opposite action; as if in a trance, she sat down._  
_

_You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception_

I've got a tight grip on reality  
But I can't  
Let go of what's in front of me here  
I know your leaving  
In the morning, when you wake up  
Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream

Oh

You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception

And I'm on my way to believing.  
Oh, And I'm on my way to believing.

Rachel discreetly wiped her cheeks, cursing herself for hoping that just maybe, this song was about her. That was stupid though, he'd pulled the damn thing out of a hat. Puck looked up, seeing Rachel wiping her cheeks. He instantly went into asshole defence mode.

"I know I'm not exactly Andrew Lloyd Fag, but it wasn't that bad, was it Berry?" Rachel's head popped up, realising she was caught.

"Noah, Andrew Lloyd Webber isn't a performer, he's a composer. I'd say I'm sorry I saw you rehearse, but you were absolutely amazing, and I'm never sorry to see someone talented perform beautifully. I can act surprised when you play this afternoon if you'd like me to?"Rachel was rambling, and she knew it, but she wasn't lying.

"Calm yourself Starshine. That wasn't my comp song, I was just screwing around with something" Puck quickly stowed his guitar, and stormed out. Rachel was really confused now. She wanted that song to be about her so badly that her chest hurt, but she was more pragmatic than that.

***

The boys had gone first. It was hilarious to see Finn sing _Dancing Queen, _but Kurt singing _Eternal Flame _was nothing too shocking. Mike had done an awesome job with Aretha, Artie was made for Alanis, Matt survived Gloria Gaynor just fine, but Puck singing _Trouble_ by Pink had been the icing on the cake. Quinn opened up the section with her rendition of _Mrs. Robinson_ by Simon and Garfunkel, and Mercedes had just finished tearing up _Mustang Sally_, which Rachel felt was an absolute shoo-in for Regionals. It was her turn. Seeing Quinn's encouraging smile, Rachel threw caution into the wind. She took off her coat, revealing the black halterneck dress1 Quinn had foraged from the back of her closet and the rose embroidered Doc Martens2 that she had bought off eBay for Broadway camp two years ago when she was in _Rocky Horror Picture Show._ Screw it. If she was gonna do this song, she was gonna do it right. She gripped the mike, and began to move to the opening chords of the song, before making eye contact with Puck.

_You need coolin'  
Baby I'm not foolin'  
I'm gonna send ya  
Back to schoolin'  
Way down inside_

_Honey you need it  
I'm gonna give you my love_

_I'm gonna give you my love_

Wanna whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.  


Rachel winked at the audience, before putting her mike on the stand, without breaking eye contact and continued to sing

_You've been learnin'  
Baby I've been learnin'  
All them good times, baby baby  
I've been year-yearnin  
Way, way down inside  
Honey you need - ah  
I'm gonna give you my love  
I'm gonna give you my love_

Whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.  


Rachel had cut the instrumental down slightly, but she used the break in singing to dance around the stage, spinning round wildly, and waving her hair wildly in rhythm with the heavy riff

_  
Lord!  
_

Rachel moved front and centre of the stage, before making eye contact again, and before sinking to her knees in what she was sure was a very rock chick fashion and continued to sing.

_  
You've been coolin'  
An' baby I've been droolin'  
All the good times, baby  
I've been misusin'  
Way, way down inside  
I'm gonna give ya my love  
I'm gonna give ya every inch of my love,  
I'm gonna give ya my love!_

Wanna whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.  
Wanna whole lotta love.

The music came to a halt. Rachel stood up, determined to show just how she'd earned the nickname Pocket Rocket.

_  
Way down inside,  
Baby you need it.  
Lord!  
My, my, my, my,  
My, my, my, my  
_

The band rejoined her, and Rachel started to dance as she sang the final chords of the song.

_Shake for me babe  
You can be my backdoor man_

Keep it coolin' baby

The song finished. Rachel bowed; the adrenaline she always felt from performing coursing through her veins. She smiled, noticing that everybody in the audience bar one person was applauding wildly. She thanked the band, and took her seat between Quinn and Tina, Tina quickly demanding to borrow Rachel's boots.

***

She felt much more Rachel like now. She'd washed the heavy makeup off her face (she was a sucker for a theme) and was in a denim skirt and a shirt with a white mask and red rose printed on it. She stopped to adjust her socks. When she rose, she would have certainly smacked foreheads with Puck had there not been such a huge height difference. The tension was palpable. She shifted her costume bag uneasily.

"Good night, Noah" she mumbled awkwardly. Where had all her bravado gone? She began to walk towards her car. She opened her back door and began to load her things into the car. Puck followed her and grabbed her arm.

"Rach, I have to know. Were you singing about me?"Rachel's eyes widened. She swallowed.

"What if I was?"She asked, throat suddenly dry. Why was that weight on her chest lightening?

"if you were singing about me Rach, I would tell you that it was the hottest thing I'd ever seen, and that I'm an asshole who doesn't deserve you, and I'd tell you that the song in the auditorium this morning was most definitely about you. Then I would kiss you and ask you to be the first girl to come home and meet my mom." Rachel smiled. Despite what his English teacher might say, the boy had a way with words.

"It was about you."She whispered. With that, she found out that when Noah Puckerman says he's going to do something, he damn well does it. Rachel Berry was experiencing the best kiss of her life, and best yet, she was sharing it with the person who was actually kissing her.

***

Well, that kinda took on a life of its own, but I quite like it! I really appreciate the alerts, but I also love reviews! Please feed the reviews beast, and I'll give you a stuffed Puck!

1 .blogspot .com/_lRKlfcNv8Fw/R 8wbIcFZOI/AAAAAAAAAAs/ 62mSgrCewc0/s400/ little+black+dress. jpg

2 . /images /product /150367/ 1503677320_


	2. Chapter 2

Well, apparently this is no longer a one shot! I shall continue! It seems fairly fanon that Puck's mum's name is Deborah, so i'll be sticking with that, but his sister's name seems to be fairly fluid.

Don't own, don't sue!

***

Rachel was freaking out. Not only had she surrendered the keys to her baby over to Quinn to drive home, but she was currently sitting in the passenger's seat of his car, on her way to meet his mother. She forced herself to breathe normally. Her skirt almost covered her knees, and she was a good girl, right?

"She's going to hate me."Rachel said resolutely. Puck shook his head. He should have anticipated a girly freak out.

"It's not like I even have that much experience with mothers. I don't even have one. Oh man, what do I do? Crap! This was a bad idea Noah, just turn around and take me home." Rachel went back to wringing her hands in the same rhythm that her stomach was churning. Puck managed not to roll his eyes, but pulled over abruptly.

"Rach, when I say I've never brought a girl home, I wasn't exaggerating. My mom has never met one of my girlfriends, because I knew that she wouldn't approve of them. Believe me; if I thought she was going to hate you, I wouldn't be taking you to meet her. So don't freak out, because I can smell the 'mothers love me-ness' coming off you." Rachel smiled. Puck squeezed her hand several times, before turning back onto the street.

Eventually he pulled up at a modest two story home. Before she'd gotten the chance to open the door, Puck had come around and pulled the door open; claiming that it often got stuck and needed to be pulled from the outside. Before Puck unlocked the front door, he turned to Rachel awkwardly,

"Ah, my mom doesn't know about babygate; so if you could, ah, not say anything about it just yet, that would be awesome" Puck muttered uneasily. Rachel nodded (she'd had no intention of saying anything anyway). Puck unlocked the front door and held it open for Rachel, before grabbing onto her hand as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Ma, Ma, are you home? I want you to come meet someone."Puck called out. Rachel smiled, observing the walls of the home. Photo frames hung on every available wall space. Rachel heard a small pair of feet come thundering down the hallway, and watched with amusement as Puck dropped her hand in order to pick up a pigtail-ed girl who could only be his sister. It was almost like entering an alternate universe. No way would the Puck who terrorised the halls of McKinley High ever, ever swing his sister around in a circle, and listen intensely to the story of her making a girl in FOURTH GRADER cry for telling her that Edward Cullen was really Cedric Diggory, and anyways, Edward Cullen was a sparkly douchebag in a tree (she couldn't have been more than eight, maybe the girl was more like Noah than she'd originally guessed). She heard someone clear their throat.

"You bellowed?"A woman asked. There was no doubt who this could be. Rachel willed the butterflies in her stomach to calm the eff down. Puck swung his sister on one hip, and wrapped his free arm around Rachel's shoulder.

"Mom, this is Rachel Berry, my girlfriend."Noah said easily. Rachel felt herself flush lightly at the word girlfriend, but was more concerned about the way Noah's mother was looking her up and down suspiciously.

"Shalom Aleichem Rachel," Mrs Puckerman said. Rachel internally sighed in relief. She didn't have that much Hebrew, but she knew the polite reply to make.

"Aleichem Shalom, Mrs. Puckerman, you have a beautiful home."Rachel put her hand out, ready to shake hands, but she found herself enveloped in a warm hug. It really was the Twilight Zone. A second ago Mrs. Puckerman had looked like she could have murdered Rachel and made it look like an accident.

"It's wonderful to meet you Rachel; you'll be staying for dinner." It clearly wasn't a question. Rachel smiled.

"That would be lovely Mrs. Puckerman, just let me call home and tell them not to expect me."Rachel managed to skate around the daddy issue. She quickly pulled her phone out and dialled her home number. After four rings Quinn answered.

"Somehow I find myself having dinner at Noah's. Just order takeout, I'll be home before ten." Quinn squealed loudly.

"Rachel, there will be DETAILS! And many of them! I'm going to buy sorbet right now. I'll let your dads know." Rachel hung up the phone. Noah's little sister was standing at the door, staring at her in fascination.

"Hi, I'm Naomi. Do you like _Beauty and the Beast?_"She asked. Well, that was blunt. She smiled.

"I do indeed like _Beauty and the Beast_. I think Belle is my favourite Disney princess."Naomi gave her a toothless grin, and grabbed her wrist.

"Excellent. Noah says he's sick of watching it with me, but if his is there, I'm sure he'll be much more agreeable." Rachel had to stifle a giggle as she was tugged into the living room by Naomi, the child evil genius, who was calling out that her brother had better get his butt into the living room right then, or she'd find the baby photos (yep, definitely an evil genius, but Rachel was pretty keen to see the baby photos). Noah came charging in from another room, and sat down next to Rachel. He slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"Mom is having a fit. I brought a Jewish girl home for her to meet. She's planning the wedding now." Rachel could only shake her head. She may not have a Jewish mother, but she had plenty of aunts, all of whom were desperate to set her up with whatever Jewish boy they could find. Rachel leaned her head on Noah's chest and settled down to watch the movie.

***

Just as Belle's dad was getting committed to the insane asylum, it was announced that dinner was ready. Rachel was in shock. Noah pulled out not only her seat, but also his mother's and his little sister's. She smiled as he led them in a short prayer before they ate.

"So, Rachel, tell me a little about you. What are your plans for after finishing high school" Mrs Puckerman asked across the table. Rachel smiled, and swallowed her mouthful of beef stir fry.

"Well, the plan is to study at either Julliard or NYU, as a musical theatre major. I'd love to perform on Broadway or the West End."Mrs Puckerman nodded thoughtfully.

"Rachel's an amazing performer ma, she's the one that won us Sectionals, remember?" Noah jumped in.

"So tell me, what do your parents do for a living?" Mrs Puckerman continued. Rachel exchanged a look with Noah before answering.

"My dad works in finance, and my daddy lectures in literature at Ohio University." Rachel said it like was the most normal thing in the world, and quickly took a sip of water before answering the inevitable slew of questions.

"Your dad and your daddy?"Mrs Puckerman questioned. She had the look on her face that most people had when Rachel had to explain her parents' lifestyle.

"I have two gay dads. They decided that rather than adopt that they would find a surrogate mother, whom they screened based on beauty and IQ. Then they mixed their sperm together and used a turkey baster. To this day we don't know which one is my real dad, which I think is pretty amazing."Rachel smiled politely. Noah made a big show of checking his watch.

"Ah mom, I think that I should get Rachel home."

Mrs. Puckerman and Naomi walked Rachel to the door. Naomi smiled at Rachel,

"Next time you come over, I'm sure we can convince Noah that we should watch _The Lion King, _even though he always cries in it." Noah paled and started muttering about getting something in his eyes, but Mrs. Puckerman pulled Rachel into a hug.

"You're more than welcome here any time you like Rachel."She said fiercely. Rachel hugged her back.

"Thank you so much, I had a lovely time, I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon"

***

"Your sister is fabulous."Rachel said immediately. Noah shook his head.

"She's trouble. I've already got a baseball bat assigned to beating away boys who come to my front door."Rachel shook her head.

"Your mom is lovely as well. I hope she doesn't freak too much about the dad thing." Rachel added. Noah snorted.

"Not likely. She's probably gonna try and adopt you, now that she knows you don't have a mom" Rachel shrugged. That wouldn't be so bad. Noah pulled up in front of her house, and helped her out of the car, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he walked her to the door.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at eight ok?"Rachel smiled and nodded. With that, she tilted her head slightly and met his lips with hers. The kiss was sweet, much more restrained and elegant than the one in the parking lot, but still lovely. Rachel's front door opened abruptly and the pair sprung apart.

Quinn started laughing

"I've always wanted to do that to somebody. Night Puck" she laughed, as she grabbed Rachel's arm and dragged her inside. Quinn sat Rachel down on her bed and handed her a carton of strawberry kiwi sorbet and a spoon,

"Ok, talk." Rachel laughed.

"It was really great, actually. Noah's little sister Naomi is an evil genius in training, I'm sure of it, and Mrs. Puckerman is really quite lovely. I swear, Noah is a completely different person at home. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Is that sufficient detail for you?" Rachel asked, digging her spoon into the sorbet,

"I'm happy for you Rach. I'm really glad that things are working out for you."Quinn said, and she was shocked to find that her words were totally sincere.

"_Now and Then?"_ Rachel asked. Quinn nodded. It took a few minutes for both girls to change into pyjamas and sprawl out on Rachel's bed to eat sorbet and watch a movie that was a staple of both their childhoods.

***

Ok guys, I really hate to be the writer that whines for reviews, but upon checking my stats I discovered this chapter had over 500 hits but only 5 reviews! I know you guys can do better than that! Don't be a lurker! Show me the love please!

(It would really help, cause I don't have a clear idea of where this is going, and reviews are gonna keep my morale up )


	3. Chapter 3

**So… chapter three. I'm quite nervous about this one because it's really unchartered water for me style wise. Rachel demanded a rather long monologue in this one, so tell me what you think of that, and also what you think of Mr. Schuester.**

**DON'T OWN, and I'd really love it if you stopped rubbing that in!!! **

***

Rachel cracked open and eye and glanced at her phone.

"Crap! Quinn, wake up! It's after seven thirty!" Quinn groaned and rolled out of bed. Rachel was flipping through her wardrobe frantically and brushing her teeth at the same time. She rushed back into her ensuite to rinse.

"Quinn, are you ok to get to school? Noah is driving me!" She called out

"Yeah, I figured that would be the case. I'm getting a ride with Brittany." Quinn called back. She wandered back into Rachel's room, and pointed out which outfit Rachel should wear out of the two options (since Quinn had moved in, Rachel's style had remained preppy, but was much less grandma and much more Blair Waldorf)

***

Quinn had skidded out the door with a "bye Rach!" and Rachel was alone in her kitchen. She slowly pushed down the plunger on her coffee pot and breathed in the aroma before pouring it into her _Avenue Q_ travel mug, and added sugar and lactose free milk.

She heard a knock at the door. Rachel slung her satchel over her shoulder (Quinn had convinced her that the granny bag HAD to go) and walked to the door. She kissed her boyfriend hello and followed him to the car.

"We have to drop Nay off to school first, and she has demanded both shotgun and control of the stereo". Rachel yawned and nodded. She steeled herself up for the Jonas Brothers or a similar form of torture, but was pleasantly surprised when she heard the opening chords of _Bennie and the Jets_. She sighed in relief.

"You weren't expecting _High School Musical _or some crap, were you? Nay here had been demanding Elton since she was three." Rachel nodded her approval.

"Our neighbour bought me the _Twilight_ CD for my birthday. I made Noah take it back and get me the Beatles." Rachel nearly choked on her coffee.

"Well, I actually quite like both Muse and Paramore, but I don't know that I could deal with the shame of owning something _Twilight _related, so good move Naomi." Puck nodded his agreement. He pulled up at the elementary school.

"Ok midget, I'll come and get you from Samantha's after Glee rehearsal". Naomi gave them a gappy smile and waved as they pulled away.

Rachel was content to listen to _Goodbye Yellow Brick Road _and the rest of the car trip was spent in comfortable silence. Puck pulled up in his usual spot in the student car park. Rachel froze.

"Oh no! I haven't brought a change of clothes to school in over a month. There are surely going to be repercussions of us getting back together, and that probably means wearing some slushies. I can't believe I didn't consider this!" Puck got out of the car and opened Rachel's car door (he claimed it got stuck, but his little sister seemed to have no problem with it).

"We are a couple of good looking Jews Rach; we'll just roll with it. If people can't deal, that's their problem. If either of us scores a slushie facial I'll coerce Schuester into letting us leave to change." Rachel nodded.

"Let's do this." She took his hand and began to walk into the school

***

Rachel split with Puck and went to her locker. She waved at Quinn, who was talking to Santana and Brittany. They came over to her.

"I hear you and Puck are back on" Santana stated. Rachel nodded, before taking her last sip of coffee and putting the travel mug into her locker.

"He acts like a dumb ass, you just give me the word and I'll set him straight, ok?" Santana said. Rachel smiled. Their relationship had become noticeably friendlier after Rachel had insisted that Santana wasn't lying about the set list at sectionals.

"Thanks Santana, I'll be sure to do just that." The bell rang, and Rachel gathered her books and went to her first class

***

Rachel was returning to her locker at the end of third period when she saw Finn there waiting for her.

"He's only going to hurt you Rachel. He's damaged goods, it's what he does." Rachel scoffed.

"Are you serious Finn? You want to do this now? Noah is going to hurt me? Noah isn't the one who has been jerking me around since they joined Glee, flirting with me and then leaving me hanging constantly. You've been single for close to a month now Finn, and the second I become unavailable you decide to show some interest? You just want what you can't have. I'm not your second choice anymore. You and I both know you still love Quinn, and I am not about to jeopardise my friendship with her so you can disappoint me yet again. I'm with Noah now, and whether you choose to accept that is your business. And just so we're clear, I'm looking for baggage that goes with mine, and the damaged goods you're talking about are working into my life just fine." With that, Rachel stormed to her Spanish class.

***

"Still slushie free?" Rachel smiled.

"So far, yes. I consider the whispers in the hallways valuable practice for my future as a Tony winner." Puck chuckled and slung an arm around her waist, and began to walk toward the cafeteria.

"Mmm, unidentified slop. My favourite." Rachel rolled her eyes at Puck and followed him to the table normally occupied by Gleeks.

"Only a matter of time until you two got back together. I'm surprised that they didn't lock you two up and harness that burning sexual tension into a weapon of mass destruction."

"Mike, I'm so glad the vagina transplant was a success. Never speak like that again" Puck shot out. Mike extended his hand and Puck slapped it and then fist bumped it, and Mike then gave Rachel a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"I'm real happy for you both." Rachel smiled.

"Thanks Mike, it means a lot." Artie pulled up at the head of the table, and Tina dropped her tray in the place opposite Rachel.

"It was the boots, right? It was so totally the boots that woke Puckerone up. Rachel, I gotta borrow those boots!" Tina jerked her head towards Artie. Rachel nodded emphatically, and swallowed her unidentified slop.

"Absolutely. I woke up late today, but those boots are as good as yours Tina. May they bring you similar results as the ones brought to me."

Rachel continued her conversation with Tina, Quinn occasionally putting forward an opinion, but mostly content to sit quietly and observe.

Rachel rose to refill her travel mug with green tea and lemon (excellent for digestion and detoxifying), and as she walked past Kurt and Mercedes (who were seated as far away from her as humanly possible, and hiding behing a copy of _Cosmo_) she heard snippets of conversation

"…gosh, she can't share, can she?..."

"…not enough to ruin one relationship…"

"…so self centred…"

"…typical diva behaviour…" Whatever. Rachel knew she was better than that. She took her seat.

"You ok baby?" She forced a smile onto her face.

"Oh, I'm fine. I think it was too much to expect universal support. You haven't been given to hard a time, have you?" Puck shrugged.

"Matt was cool. He said it was about damn time anyway. Finn looked like I kicked his puppy."

"Finn tried to give me a lecture on what a jerk you are, and how you were just going to break my heart. I told him where he could shove it." Puck kissed her temple.

"That's my girl"

***

All in all, the day was pretty good. Rachel walked into Glee rehearsal ready to vote for Tina's version of _Higher Ground_ to be the next group number. The choir room was a flurry of noise and movement. Artie and Puck were jamming on the guitars; Finn, Matt and Mike were laughing at a Youtube Clip and Quinn was chatting to Brittney as Brittany proved her potential as a human pretzel while Tina sketched frantically on an art pad. Kurt came flooding into the room, closely flanked by Santana and Mercedes.

"We so totally have the latest scoop on Wemma Watch." Wemma Watch basically involved stalking Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury in the hopes of seeing them finally get together."

"Ok, so I was in Mr. Schue's fifth period Spanish class and..."

"Wait!" Mercedes abruptly cut Santana off.

"I'm not so sure we should be discussing this now. After all, loose lips sink ships." Kurt said prissily.

"Yeah, we'll just wait for our own personal trout mouth to have a diva fit and run out on us" Mercedes and Kurt both fixed Rachel with a pointed stare.

Rachel's jaw dropped. They had finally taken it a step too far. She stood up and walked over to Mercedes and Kurt.

"Trout mouth? You really want to go there with me Mercedes? Let's wander on down memory lane, shall we? I remember SOMEONE having a secret of gargantuan proportions told to them. I also remember that person not respecting the basic laws of secrecy by keeping their fat mouth shut, but instead blabbing to three quarters of the Glee club, but that person was also certain to not tell the one person who had the right to know, or the person with a strong enough moral compass to tell the truth.

My motivations for telling the truth may not have been entirely virtuous, but let's face facts Mercedes; of the two of us; I am not the one who spreads gossip like venereal disease."

Pandora's box had been blown wide open. Ever bitter feeling Rachel had ever had came pouring out of her mouth.

"You know, I would love to know exactly what it is I've done to make you people hate me so much. We're Glee club, remember? We're supposed to understand what is to be outcast, but you people seem determined to further ostracise me.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm abrasive, über determined, and I have a tendency for diva-esque behaviour. But I've never claimed otherwise. I know who I am. I've never extended a false hand of friendship to set someone up to fall flat on their face. And you know what? Despite my singlemindedness to the point of obsession, I don't think I'm evil incarnate. I can't help but notice that I was the only one who had a problem with our pregnant teammate taking up residence in her car! So I'm sorry. I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle, but if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best. But I've done my best to reign in my behavior, and crazily enough, I actually thought I was getting somewhere with it."

Rachel dimly noticed someone enter the room.

"Listen here, bia..."Mercedes started.

"Do NOT interrupt me Mercedes, I am not finished! I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the projection I keep getting forced into. I'm Rachel the diva, the bitch, the drama queen. Anything I have to say is just showboating and hubris, right? All I want is the spotlight. So I give it up. But then something happens, and everything goes to hell in a handbasket, and oh Rachel, we need you to save the day. If you want me here, you want me all the time, and not just when it suits you. I have had enough of being the target for your frustrations as well as the target of slushie facials, pornographic images and vicious rumours. All I want for you guys to realise is that I'm important too!"

Rachel sucked in a deep breath. She realised that Mr. Schuester had entered the room, and his face read a mixture of anger and concern.

"I'm not sure of how much of that you were privy to Mr. Schue, but I think it's obvious that such emotional turmoil has significantly jolted my focus. I believe that I will be unable to maintain a professional attitude in rehearsals today, so I think I'll take my leave." Rachel quietly gathered her things and exited the choir room, where the group could hear her previously contained sobs echo off the lockers.

Quinn stood up abruptly.

"Wow, I hope you two big shots are satisfied. You're officially the biggest badasses on the playground. I'm sure that picking on the outsider has filled you with all kinds of fuzzy feelings. You two disgust me, and the rest of you who sat by and let it happen are no better. Rachel and I may not have a sterling record of friendship between us, but you two are in a league of your own; pretending to be her friend and then leaving her high and dry. Sue Sylvester could get some tips off of you. Are you coming, Puck?"Quinn fixed Kurt and Mercedes with a filthy look and marched out of the room with Puck in tow.

"Gosh, Rachel just always has to have the spotlight doesn't she?"Kurt snapped. Mercedes nodded her assent.

"I was well aware that there was some animosity between some of you and Rachel, but this is just toxic. Kurt, you should know that Rachel came to me today with four suggestions of songs featuring you on lead vocal, and Mercedes, she was adamant that we work your _Dreamgirls_ number into our repertoire, seeing as you were robbed of the opportunity to dazzle with it at sectionals; her words, not mine.

I'm aware that Rachel isn't always the easiest person to work with, but it seems to me that she is constantly extending an olive branch to have it flung back in her face. You guys are a team, and it's time you actually started behaving like one. This behaviour changes right now, or I take drastic action to make sure it changes."Mr. Schuester set some warm ups for the group and left to find Rachel.

***

Rachel had hidden in the auditorium. She was dry eyed, and she sat quietly tinkering at the piano. She jumped when she heard the doors open.

"If you're here for round two, just take conceded victory now. I don't have anything left."She sighed. When she didn't get a smart reply, she turned around and burst into mirthless laughter.

"Oh, please tell me you see the irony here. The two people who used to torture me the most are now the only ones who care if I live or die?" Quinn sat down on the piano stool next to Rachel, and wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulders.

"Believe me Rachel, if someone had told me I'd be doing this six months ago, I would have laughed my ass off."

Rachel sniffled and smiled. She held her free hand out to Puck. He stepped over to her and took it. She pressed a kiss on the back of his palm and smiled up at him. The doors swung open and Rachel steeled up for another round of arguments.

"How did I know that Rachel Berry would hide in an auditorium?"Mr Schuester called out.

"Because I'm an egomaniac trout mouth who uses her co-stars to get ahead?"Rachel replied. Mr Schue climbed up onto the stage.

"I owe you an apology Rachel. I wasn't aware of how excluded you were. That's partly my fault. I have, more than once, forced you to eat humble pie in front of your peers by giving solos I knew you wanted to other people, or made you compete for something I'd already promised to you. You are an amazing young woman, Rachel, and I don't just mean as a performer. I think that many of us have been quick to judge your failings without once noticing your strengths. You have a tremendous heart Rachel, and you should be commended for that. So I'm sorry, Rachel, for not seeing what was in front of me. Quinn, Puck, don't worry about rehearsals. Take Rachel home and watch _West Side Story _with her."

"Thank you Mr. Schue."Rachel whispered. He smiled and left the auditorium.

"Ok, let's go. But after today, we never speak of this again."Puck said. Rachel shrugged and followed Quinn and Puck to the car.

***

So, that actually finishes a little earlier than where it did in my draft, but I felt like it was dragging a little bit. So blame the Rachel in my head for her epic monologues, trust me, they were not planned.

Also, please tell me what you think of Mr. Schue. I'm actually studying teaching, so I find his lack of professional distance kind of maddening (he should have lost his job SOOOO many times!), but I hope I got him right.

Chapter three has been handwritten! I just have to transcribe it!

Puck cupcakes, and for the members of the I'd Turn Gay for Lea Michele club, cupcakes of Lea at the Grammys for you (she looked VERY cute), in return for reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

A massive, MASSIVE thank you to **sweetcaroline1986, X5 – 452, kuddlebunnie, **and **york **(just by the way york, I can't pm you the answer, so eventually friendship will be on the cards, but they won't just be besties straight away, that's super unrealistic) for being the only people to review! You guys are wonderful!!! Everyone alerting, also very flattering!

I don't own Glee guys... if I did, things would be vastly different... Like Rachel would actually be appreciated!

***

"So, I'm not sure that I'm in the mood for Tony and Maria. I feel a little more...feline" Rachel said as they approached Puck's car.

"Rachel, I refuse to watch _Cats._ A bunch of actors in fuzz and lycra cartwheeling singing about the moon is just stupid." Quinn replied. Rachel grinned mischievously.

"Oh, I totally agree Quinn. I think that after Noah drops us home, he should go get his sister and bring her over for pizza and _The Lion King_" Rachel said. Quinn observed Rachel fluttering her eyelashes innocently and Puck's groan.

"I am SO missing something here, aren't I?" Quinn asked.

"According to Naomi, Noah's little sister, Noah has a rather infamous appreciation for _The Lion King_."Rachel informed Quinn.

"Fine. But only cause Kurt and Mercedes are dicks. But just remember Rachel, every time you do this is another chance for me to get you to watch a movie of my choice."

***

Puck had gone to get his sister and the DVD, so Rachel and Quinn took the opportunity to change into sweats (Quinn was certain to change into something loose) and began to pull out the sofa bed. There was a knock on the door. Rachel answered it, and returned with Naomi and Puck in tow.

"Quinn, this is Naomi, Noah's little sister, Naomi, this is Quinn, my...roomate" Rachel explained. Quinn smiled awkwardly, keenly aware that Drizzle (a nickname she hadn't been able to shake) was somersaulting in her belly. Rachel noticed the pregnant (no pun intended) silence and panicked.

"Ok, so I haven't ordered pizza yet because I wasn't sure how kosher you guys are. How do you feel about milk and meat, and how opposed to the idea of eating pig?" Naomi immediately responded, rattling off Noah and her favourite pizza toppings, and helped Rachel order them online, Rachel typing in her daddy's credit card details almost from memory.

"Well, my dad is in Chicago at a conference, and Daddy has his Jane Austen book club tonight, so I say we get this party started."Naomi insisted that she sit next to Rachel, and Puck plunked himself next to his girlfriend on the sofa bed, leaving Quinn to her own recliner lounge.

Rachel did her best to concentrate on the movie, but the pizza tasted like cardboard and she was hyper aware of each and every time Noah looked over at Quinn. Her habit of crushing on inappropriate men was flashing painfully in her face. Rachel forced herself to feel the warm arm currently around her shoulder, and she put all her focus on the TV screen, barely even noticing and poking fun at Puck when he cried over Mufasa's death.

***

Rachel jumped when she heard her front door open. She relaxed again when she saw her daddy walk into the living room.

"Hey daddy! How was your book club?"He smiled and dropped a kiss on Quinn and her foreheads.

"Oh, you know; the usual. We were discussing _Emma, _and naturally everyone wanted my opinion on whether or not Emma was a closeted lesbian." Rachel shook her head.

"Oh yeah, daddy, this is Noah Puckerman, my boyfriend, and his little sister Naomi."Puck almost cracked the ceiling with how fast he jumped out of his seat. He was determined to make a good impression. He extended his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Berry." They continued to converse for a few minutes. Puck's phone beeped. He flipped his phone open.

"I'm sorry, but that was my mom. I should probably get home before Nay passes out on your couch."Puck said goodbye to Quinn and Mr. Berry, and walked out with Naomi and Rachel. He helped Naomi into her seat and turned to Rachel.

"I'll pick you and Quinn up for school tomorrow, ok?" Rachel nodded and let him hug her.

"Hey, they're jerks. Don't let them get you down."Rachel nodded, and waved as his truck thundered down the street.

***

Rachel walked into her kitchen and saw her daddy making hot chocolate.

"Quinn is up taking a shower. Rachel, we need to have a conversation. That boy is Quinn's baby's father, isn't he?"Rachel gaped.

"How did you know?"She asked. She accepted the cup of hot chocolate.

"Sweetheart, I'm a teacher. I'm an expert on human behaviour."Rachel rolled her eyes teasingly.

"Rachel, you know that your dad and I love Quinn, and we're thrilled that you have someone like her in your life, but please, protect your heart." Rachel smiled at her daddy, ignoring her inner turmoil.

"Daddy, Quinn doesn't love Noah. She told me that they were a huge mistake. I know she wants to get back together with Finn. I'm almost certain that Noah is only concerned about the baby. But I will protect myself, I always do." They both heard padding on the stairs. Rachel drained her cup.

"I have a whole lot of reading to do, so I'm going to go get started. Quinn, Noah offered to drive us to school tomorrow." Rachel put her cup in the dishwasher and headed upstairs. She numbly undressed, and stood under the scorching spray of the shower. She pulled on her dad's old baseball jersey, and flopped onto her bed. She lied about the reading. She wanted to be alone to obsess privately.

***

At 5.45 the next morning, Rachel decided it was pointless to try to get any more sleep. She barely tasted her protein shake, and she launched herself onto her elliptical with gusto. She set it to soft sand mode (the most challenging) and ran for the next hour.

She stepped off the machine tired but buzzing from the endorphin release, and jumped into a cool shower. She slathered herself with cocoa butter (just because she wasn't pregnant was no reason for her to not enjoy smelling like a cookie) and stepped over to her wardrobe.

Noting the storm clouds, Rachel paired a black knit dress with black stockings and flat black boots. She added a red headband and threw her school essentials into a red tote bag. By 7.25, she was primped, and in her kitchen sipping on a cappuccino and preparing chicken Caesar salad for her and Quinn to take to school.

Quinn came downstairs. She noticed the change of clothes next to Rachel's handbag and observed Rachel as possessed by Betty Crocker moving around the kitchen.

"Whoa there Suzy Homemaker, you enjoying yourself?" Rachel barely looked up, and started packing the two lunches.

"I'm preparing for the worst. It may not even be worth entering the cafeteria at lunchtime today, and I refuse to go hungry because some people have decided to make my life difficult. I've been complacent since the slushie wars, and I'm simply preparing for any further fallout regarding my relationship with Noah. You like lots of dressing right?"Quinn unpeeled a banana and smiled.

"You look super cute Rach. Don't you normally keep outfits like that for singing comps?" Rachel adjusted her lip gloss.

"I refuse to allow them to think they've gotten to me. If I turn up to school today looking anything less than perfect, they gain psychological advantage. That simply can't happen."There was a knock at the door. Rachel and Quinn called goodbyes up the stairs to Rachel's daddy and walked outside. Rachel smiled and planted a kiss on Noah's cheek.

"Morning babe, morning Quinn. I attempted to convince Nay that girlfriend automatically gets shotgun, but she doesn't believe me."Rachel frowned. Naomi was seated in the front seat of a small Toyota.

"When mom gets home after night shift she makes me take her car. She claims the truck makes too much noise when I leave the house."Puck explained. He popped the trunk, and both girls dumped their things. The car was full of chatter from Naomi about an upcoming field trip, but it became spookily quiet after her departure.

"So, ah, Rachel was in full Iron Chef mode this morning. I've never seen somebody move so fast." Quinn was grasping at straws and they all knew it. Rachel's stomach was tied up in knots. She was not looking forward to school. She'd been plagued by nightmares of Kurt and Mercedes making an alliance with Jacob Ben-Israels, and then Puck leaving her for Quinn; so she was pretty sure that any more stress would lead her down the path to crazyville.

"Oh, this is going to be bad. I don't have enough caffeine in my system for this." Rachel groaned. She leaned her head against the cool glass of the windows and closed her eyes. She felt the car come to a stop and hear the door open.

"We can't be at school yet."Rachel straightened up.

"We're not, chill out. Puck just stopped to get you more coffee. Don't panic sweetie. After you left yesterday, I tore some shreds off Kurt and Mercedes. I, ah, compared them to Sue Sylvester. When Puck and I were leaving to find you, Mr. Schue started some shred tearing of his own. They would be idiots to try anything today."Quinn explained soothingly. Rachel relaxed back into the car seat.

"Really?"She asked. Quinn smiled.

"Of course. You think anybody messes with my girl and gets away with it? I may not be Queen Bee anymore, but I can still bring out the ice bitch act when I need to."Puck got back into the car.

"Ok, we got a skim mocha for you Rach, hot chocolate for mama bear back there and if either of you screw with my caramel latte, I'll make you walk home."

"Thank you baby" Rachel chirped.

***

The emergency outfit was hanging in her locker. Rachel could hear Quinn's frantic whispering and she looked up. Quinn was in full Mama Bear mode, blocking Tina and Artie's access to Rachel.

"Q, its fine. You can let them through."Artie wheeled up to Rachel hesitantly.

"Rachel, I'm really sorry. I didn't realise that they were hurting you so much. I guess I forgot you aren't bulletproof." Rachel leaned down and hugged Artie.

"Thank you. That really means a lot. And just so you know, I'm sorry about all the assumptions I made before the bake sale. I really didn't mean to upset you."Artie grinned.

"It doesn't matter, it's in the past. I'm having a Guitar Hero marathon on Friday if you wanna come? Bring Quinn and Puck."

"I'd like that. I'll be there."Rachel watched Artie roll away. She turned to see Tina standing in front of her locker.

"I didn't stand up for you. I knew how cruel they were being and I just stood by and let it happen. I'm foul. God, Rachel, I am SO sorry! I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to stop them, but I promise you, I never said anything."

"Tina, stop. It's fine. You're not foul. You are awesome, and I tried to steal your moment. Trust me; you are not the foul one."Rachel pulled a box out of her locker.

"But if you take this we're even." Tina peeked into the box, and squealed. She pulled Rachel into a tight one armed hug.

"Thank you Rachel! I'll let you know how it goes!"Tina powered off to her locker, nearly bowling over some freshmen. Rachel linked arms with Quinn and walked to class.

***

Rachel spent her free period fiddling with a song Garage Band in the auditorium. She was walking back to her locker before lunch when her path was blocked by two Glamazons.

"If you two are looking to start round two of the hating on Rachel parade you seem to have going on, I'd appreciate it if we could wait until there are some witnesses present." Rachel attempted to sidestep them, only to have them block her path again.

"You know, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey and even my girl Beyonce have been known to be divas. If I'm able to love them I'm sure I can stop hating you."Kurt stated.

"Kurt, if that is your attempt at an apology, I would much prefer you Google one, memorise it and try again." Rachel turned; ready to take the long way to her locker.

"Quinn was right "Mercedes called out. Rachel froze.

"We were just like Sue. We were worse. We could accept Cheerios and football players who used to make our lives a living hell, but we couldn't accept one of our own, who has pushed us to be better since day one. We get it, ok? We've been looking at too much Perez Hilton. We were wrong."Mercedes added.

"I manipulated you Rachel, just to see how it would turn out. I'm sorry, ok? I'm sorry that I had to crush your light to make mine shine brighter."Kurt finally said.

"You're not a trout mouth Rachel. I've gotten a little too good at pushing your buttons. I'm sorry I was such a hater, that just aint cool."Rachel turned around, her eyes watery.

"Thank you. Thank you both. Can we please not antagonise each other so much in the future?" Mercedes grinned.

"Done."And in a way that only girls can understand, the three biggest divas of McKinley high walked down the hall discussing Rachel's boots.

***

"Is everything going ok babe?"Puck asked as they lined up for lunch. Rachel gestured to her tote when Puck offered her a tray.

"Yeah, actually, everything's good. Artie invited us to his place on Friday night to play Guitar Hero, and Brittany told me if I were a flower she'd pick me. I'm sure there's more to that metaphor, but the right intent was certainly present."Rachel said.

"Kurt and Mercedes?"

"Well, I don't know that we'll ever be best friends, but we have an understanding."Rachel stated. She sat down next to Kurt, and she couldn't help but feel slightly smug when she pulled out her homemade lunch, especially when she compared it with everyone else's slop.

"Ok, Noah, I can see you eyeing off my cookie."She stated. He mock pouted.

"But you smell like one. You could at least give me the next best thing" he complained. She frowned and slid the cookie over to him.

"Only because you bought me coffee."She stated firmly.

"Thanks baby, you're the best!"Puck replied, squeezing her lightly. She returned to her conversation with Kurt about Britney lip synching in concert. She debated with delight, determined not to see her boyfriend sneaking glances at someone else's stomach.

***

Rachel was in Puck's mom's car after school. She was dimly aware of Puck and Quinn debating James Cameron's best work. But she was having too much of an internal debate to contribute. They pulled up in front of her house.

"We should have the house to ourselves for the next few hours, so if you don't have other plans, you're welcome to come in if you'd like Noah."Rachel said.

"Sure. My mom is picking Naomi up from school today. Sounds good." He answered. Rachel unlocked the front door and quickly disabled the alarm system.

"Well, I have a mountain of biology homework, so I'm going to head upstairs and hang out with my textbook. Don't do anything I wouldn't!"Quinn announced, and walked upstairs.

Rachel fussed around in the kitchen, and eventually put a plate of cookies out in front of her boyfriend, and began to munch on some grapes. They sat down at the kitchen bench.

"Ok, Noah, we need to talk."Rachel finally sighed.

"Ah, babe, no good has ever come after that sentence. I wasn't supposed to beat Hummel up was I? Cause I think that Naomi could probably take him to the carpet, and I have a strict don't beat up on kids or women policy." Puck responded quickly.

"It has nothing to do with that. Noah, answer me honestly. Are you with me so that you can get to Quinn? I won't be mad if you are, but I need to know before I get too deep into this."There. She had said it. Puck stared at her for a few seconds.

"Rachel, NO! Of course not! I want to be with you!"He drew her in and kissed her fiercely.

"Rach, I want into that kid's life so badly it hurts. I can't have a kid of mine thinking I'm a deadbeat. I am not a deadbeat. I've never seen the kid and I already love her more than Nay. I'm going to be a good dad, if I ever get half a chance. But me and Quinn? We were a one night stand of drunken revenge after you guys performed _Push It_. We'd never work." Rachel sighed in relief.

"So that's why you keep staring at her stomach." She said. Puck looked at her sheepishly.

"Look, if Quinn seeing me out of school helps her see me as more than a dude with a Mohawk and a badass attitude, then cool, but I'm not using you to get to her. I have no doubt you'd kill me in my sleep if I did."He added. Rachel smirked.

"And you better remember it."

"Besides, blonde cheerleaders are a dime a dozen. I much prefer tiny brunettes."Rachel giggled, and leaned over and kissed Noah.

"Thank you, for everything. It's been less than a week and you've had more than your fair share of crazy."

"Berry, I dig your crazy."Rachel kissed him again. She pulled back abruptly when she heard someone clear their throat.

"Dad! You're back early! How was your conference?" Her dad looked pointedly at the strange boy in his kitchen.

"Dad, this is Noah Puckerman, my boyfriend."Puck stood and shook his hand.

"Very pleased to meet you sir."He figured that he'd already won over one dad, but this looked like the mean dad. The kind of dad who had a shotgun reserved for boys who had Mohawks and kissed his only daughter in his kitchen.

"The conference was pretty average, really. I'm glad to be home."Rachel smiled.

"So, Noah, tell me about yourself."And with that, Puck knew exactly how Ben Stiller felt in _Meet the Parents._

***

Hmm... so. I don't know that I'm 100% in love with the reconciliation between Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes, but I felt it should be a little bit understated. Either way, tell me what you think and I have lots of cupcakes on offer from the last chapter. Don't worry, they're still fresh!

Also, I've realised that I've started working in quotes from other movies into this...If you can pick the one from this chapter you get an extra cupcake! Reviews= 3


	5. Chapter 5

**I must stress, right now, that I am NOT a dancer! I have some background in musical theatre, but it's fairly limited. My dance knowledge is coming largely from Lord Google and Lady Wikipedia, as well as **_**So You Think You Can Dance.**_

**Oh yeah, the movie quote from the last chapter was **_**It doesn't matter, it's in the past**_**, originally said by Rafiki in **_**The Lion King**_** but said by Artie in the last chapter, and I don't think anybody got it...oh well, I'm pretty sure this one is much easier, and there is one in chapter two as well!**

***

Rachel walked Puck out to his car. The second her front door had shut, she immediately launched herself on him (no mean feat, given their height difference) and kissed him.

"I am SO sorry. My dad is a little over protective. You did really well though." She kissed him again. Feeling mischievous, she drew his bottom lip into her mouth. He responded by snaking a hand into her hair and pulling her closer. His mouth tasted like the cookies he'd just eaten. She felt herself smile against his lips. He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. Rachel smiled more fully. In that second, life was pretty darn sweet. She brushed her lips against his again. He responded in kind but didn't go further.

"Rach, if I don't leave right now, I am going to kiss you in a way no girl should be kissed if her father is in a two mile radius. I'll see you tomorrow morning gorgeous." He unlocked the car door.

"I have dance straight after Glee tomorrow, so I'll drive Quinn and I to school tomorrow so I can hightail it straight after rehearsals tomorrow." Puck nodded.

"I guess I'll see you at school then." He kissed the tip of her nose and sped off. Rachel walked upstairs and flopped onto Quinn's bed. Quinn looked up from her homework.

"I saw the way you just got kissed. One, remember your driveway is technically public domain, so making out there officially counts as a PDA, and two, after experiencing a kiss like that your face should not look like that. What's wrong?"Rachel buried her head into a pillow and groaned.

"It was bad, Quinn. It was really bad!"She moaned. Quinn pulled the pillow off her face.

"Rachel, you forget that I've kissed Puck. Bad really isn't a possibility there, unless you like, bit him; and as much as I love you I'm not willing to go all _Cruel Intentions_ to establish your kissing prowess." Rachel threw Quinn's stuffed elephant at her.

"No fool! It wasn't the kissing. Well, it was the kissing, but that wasn't the problem. My dad walked in."Rachel said. Quinn shrugged.

"And?"

"Not my daddy Quinn, my dad. The dad I thought was in Chicago, who got to meet my boyfriend after he saw us exchange saliva in his kitchen!"Rachel whimpered. Quinn grimaced.

"Ooh, that is bad. Did he freak?"

"Well, he went his freaky stare thing, and then he fired like thirty questions at him. Noah actually coped quite well. He managed to skate over the whole Fight Club thing and stuck to sports."Rachel said. Quinn lay down next to Rachel.

"It sounds like he did well then. I'm glad. Trust me on this; there is nothing worse than your dad hating your boyfriend."Rachel murmured her assent.

***

Rachel returned home from her singing lesson at 7.30 that evening. She declined her dad's offer to watch a movie, and instead went upstairs and pulled up several videos on Youtube. She watched them intently, taking notes as she went.

***

Rachel slept much better that night. Between her morning workout, the weatherman's promise of sunshine and the amount of caffeine coursing through her veins, she was in a great mood. She pulled up in the school car park and killed her engine just as Puck was pocketing the keys to his truck.

"Berry, you drive a chick car."Puck stated solemnly, looking at her convertible Mini. Rachel scoffed.

"My car is not a chick car! I require two feet to drive it thank you very much!" Puck stepped over and examined her gear box.

"You drive a stick? Babe, that is hot."Rachel kissed him good morning and frowned. She hit a button and the soft top slid into place.

"Why is that hot?"She asked. Puck shrugged.

"I don't know, it just is."

***

Rachel was upbeat when she walked into Glee rehearsal. She felt like a marshmallow with her leotard and tights on under her clothes. She stood in front of the mirror and pinned her hair into a neat bun. The whole group had gathered in the choir room. Mr Schue had brought a whiteboard with him and had written SONG CHOICES FOR SECTIONALS across the top in jagged green capitals. Rachel raised her hand.

"I have a suggestion."She called out. She waited for the onslaught of groans but was heartened when she didn't hear any.

"I believe we need a song that will allow us to demonstrate that our dance ability is just as great, or perhaps even greater than Vocal Adrenaline's. After Tina's performance in the Gender Bender challenge, I think we have the song."Rachel paused, and then continued.

"I don't know how many of you have seen the movie _Centre Stage_, but there is a brilliant dance sequence to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' version of _Higher Ground._ I think that could be an excellent piece for us to show our versatility, and I spent most of last night dreaming up my ideal choreography and arrangement for it."Rachel stopped, and looked at her peers.

"Well, don't just leave us hanging! What are you thinking?"Kurt called out. Rachel grinned.

"Ok, so, I'd have Finn drumming, Noah on guitar and Artie on bass. I think vocals are most suited to Artie, providing he can play the bassline and sing the melody at the same time. Otherwise Noah is probably the most suitable singer. Dance wise, I think we need to keep the rough kind of just thrown together look the movie choreography has, and keep the really jagged feel, but not do the whole boys section, girls sections the movie has. We'll have to play with it as we choreograph, but what I have in my head is incredibly energetic, and quite technical, and I'm quite certain it may send Quinn into preterm labour, but I'm sure we can tweak it as we go for less experienced dancers. I also really like the idea of each of us having a few counts as a solo, and I think we'd be crazy not to have everybody who is able to end the song with pirouettes. That's just what I'm seeing, so feel free to jump in with any suggestions; I'd like this to be as collaborative as it can be."

"That sounds awesome Rachel,"Mr. Schuester said, and he wrote _Higher Ground_ onto the whiteboard in the same messy script. The group spent the next forty minutes throwing out song titles before Mr. Schue dismissed them, reminding them that he'd had them pulled from class the next day to work intensively on Regionals numbers.

"Hey Rachel!" Brittany called out. Rachel turned around.

"I just wanted to let you know I have some ideas for choreography if you wanted to work on it sometime?"

"That sounds really great Brittany, but I have to run because I have to be at my dance class in fifteen minutes, but I'll talk to you about it later!" Rachel called out a quick goodbye to the group, and threw Quinn her keys.

***

Rachel jumped out of the car and waved to Quinn (there was zero parking around her dance school that was legal for more than an hour; Rachel had the parking ticket to prove it). She walked into the studio, quickly removed her street clothes and began to warm up.

***

Puck had received a text message from Quinn stating her feet were too swollen to drive, and Rachel's dads were out, so could he be a decent boyfriend and go Rachel from dance class, and an address attached. Puck parked his truck, conscious that it was one hour parking and headed inside. He stood awkwardly in the reception, ignoring the pointed stares the secretary was giving him. He looked through the glass pane into the dance studio, and quickly picked Rachel out from the group.

He had no problems admitting that the purple leotard did amazing things for her butt, and showed that while she was petite, she had a rocking body underneath the sweater vests. The absence of a scrap of fabric she claimed was a skirt confirmed just how many days her legs went for.

His jaw tightened when he saw some ballerino (or douchebag in tights, as Puck dubbed him) lift Rachel into the air by her hip and inner freaking thigh! His hands slipped into fists when the douche put Rachel back onto the ground, but had his hand on her ankle when Rachel pointed her left foot up above her head. Puck felt relief wash over him when the class finished. Rachel frowned slightly and then smiled when she walked into the reception and saw him standing there.

"What are you doing here? Quinn was supposed to pick me up."She stopped Puck from grabbing her around the waist.

"I've been dancing for the past four hours, I do not smell attractive."She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a can of deodorant, which she promptly sprayed on.

"Much better."She stepped gracefully over to Puck and rose up on her toes and kissed him hello. She then sat down and started to unlace her shoes.

"Apparently Quinn's feet are too swollen to drive, and your dads aren't home to drive you, so she asked me to come get you. Berry, what the hell happened to your feet?" Rachel rolled her tights off her feet (they were designed with holes over the toes so she could pull them down for ballet, but wear them up near her knees in jazz and ballroom) and inspected her bloodied toes.

"This is pretty normal Noah. I've just spent the better part of an hour balancing in brand new Pointe shoes on the tips of my toes. From the looks of it, I've split a few blisters open, and I've lost another toenail." Puck looked at her, disgusted.

"And you call football gross."He scowled as the douche in tights and the woman he figured was their coach walk out of the studio.

"Rachel, I have to say, your flexibility has improved tremendously in the past month. What have you been doing?"The teacher said.

"Thank you so much Ms Linda. I've been going along to Pilates classes with a friend of mine." Rachel noticed her boyfriend eyeing off her pas de deux partner.

"Ms Linda, Sam, I don't believe you've met my boyfriend, Noah."The douchebag looked disappointed and actually winced in pain when he shook Puck's hand.

Rachel had pulled on a pair of jazz pants over her leotard and shoved her abused feet into a pair of Uggs, and pulled her hair, damp from sweat, out of its bun and let it sit around her face in waves. Puck did the gentlemanly thing (he wasn't raised by wolves, and his mom was actually kinda strict about that kind of stuff) and picked up her bag. Rachel blushed when her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Do you mind if we stop somewhere so I can grab some takeout? I'm gonna faint soon." She stated. He even opened the door to the truck for her. He started the car.

"Is there anywhere in particular you want?"He asked her. Rachel shrugged.

"Noah, if I don't eat in the next ten minutes I'm going to start gnawing on your fingers. I REALLY don't care."She stated firmly. Noah frowned.

"Ok, the first place I see it is."

***

Noah parked in the parking lot of the diner that he tended to frequent with the boys from the football team. He looked over and saw Rachel shiver.

"Babe, where is your jacket?"He asked. Rachel shrugged.

"I forgot it. I normally don't need one anyway because I go straight from class to home."She shivered again. Puck looked around his car. He quickly pulled the grey football hoodie he was wearing off and handed it to her.

"Put that on." He said. She frowned.

"Aren't you going to be cold?"She asked. Puck rolled his eyes.

"Rachel, put the damn hoodie on. You've just been exercising, right? If you cool down too quickly your muscles will spaz out and you'll be in for a world of hurt tomorrow. I'll be cool." Rachel got out of the truck and pulled the hoodie on. She rolled it up so she could use her hands, and it hung at mid thigh. Puck took her hand. They walked into the diner and grabbed a booth for two.

"Sorry babe, I don't think they're gonna have salad for you."Puck teased. Rachel smirked. She smiled at the waitress.

"Could I please have the double cheeseburger with the works, with extra fries, and a large caramel milkshake. Anything for you Noah?"She said. Puck looked at her in shock and ordered the fried chicken and fries with a coke.

Rachel smiled at the waiter who brought over their meals. She bit into the cheeseburger, and nearly groaned with pleasure. Noah looked at her in shocked pleasure.

"What? I have spent six hours of my day doing form of exercise! I'm hungry and I for one think I've earned this. I don't subsist entirely on salad you know."She defended herself. Puck shook his head.

"Trust me babe, I'm not freaked out that you're eating. You have no idea how attractive it is to see a girl eat something that isn't rabbit food. I just have no idea where its gonna go, I mean, face it, that plate is like the same size as your head. And now I'm curious, how the hell did you manage to work out for six hours today?" Rachel swallowed her mouthful of hamburger.

"Well, I was up at 6 to run on my elliptical, then I had gym today, and we did the beep test, and because of my cardiovascular superiority, I managed to stay in for far longer than the rest of the class. Then after Glee I had my ballroom, tap, jazz and ballet classes."She explained.

"Geez, no wonder you're always so perky."Puck said. Rachel nodded.

"Well, yeah. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy." she stated. Puck nodded.

"It also explains your ass."He commented.

"My ass?"She questioned. Puck shrugged.

"Yeah. Berry, you easily have the best ass in Lima." Rachel blushed.

***

The waitress that had sat them came over to clear their plates.

"You kids after the dessert menu? We have the best berry pie in Western Ohio" She said. Puck smirked at Rachel, and Rachel found herself growing warm under his gaze.

"Ah, no thank you. Could we please have our bill though?" The waitress bustled off. Puck slid around and pulled Rachel close.

"I'm definitely in the mood for Berry, just not in the variety that she's talking about" he whispered, and then pressed a soft kiss just under her earlobe. Rachel shivered. She pulled away slightly when the waitress came back with their bill. Puck deftly grabbed it, and slipped cash into the bill jacket. He wrapped his arm around Rachel as they walked out.

"Hey, Noah, let me drive your car."Rachel smiled. Puck made a face. Rachel pouted.

"Oh come on! I'll be careful. Please?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him. He sighed and handed her his keys. She smiled and climbed into the driver's seat. She moved the seat forward and adjusted the mirrors. She pulled out onto the road carefully. Puck relaxed slightly. He frowned when Rachel took a turn into the half built housing division, and turned the car off.

"Ah, Rachel, you don't live here."He stated questioningly. Rachel laughed.

"I know I don't live here. I just thought I'd give you a taste of the Berry you've been craving." She giggled. With that, she slipped out of her Uggs, and demonstrated just how flexible she was by sidling over to the passenger's seat. She planted herself firmly on Puck's lap. She leaned forward and pressed her lips lightly on his. She felt his arms wrap round her waist, and he gently pulled her closer. She deepened the kiss. She felt the tip of Noah's tongue on her lips, so she opened her mouth. Her tongue met with his, and she sighed with pleasure. She felt Noah move one of his hands, and she pulled away and squealed lightly when she felt him tip the seat back. He looked at her face.

"This ok?"He asked. Rachel nodded.

"I just want to do one thing. It was very chivalrous of you to loan me this, Noah, but I think it's high time I gave it back."With that, she slipped out of Noah's hoodie. He pulled her back down, this time kissing her much more forcefully than he had before. Rachel was particularly enjoying his lips attentiveness when Noah's phone started ringing. He groaned loudly and answered it.

"Hello? Hi Naomi... No I did not forget where I live. What do you mean Mom got called into the hospital? Are you kidding me? No, I'll be home soon. Ok, ok, YES! I'll be there soon. Goodbye Naomi!"Puck closed his phone in frustration.

"My mom has to head into work. Apparently there was a massive accident in the middle of town, and they need all hands on deck, so I need to get home and make sure that Nay doesn't burn the joint down."Rachel pouted. Noah pressed a kiss to her neck.

"I'm sorry baby. I promise that I'm more than happy to continue my Berry taste testing as soon as I possibly can."Rachel sighed, and climbed off his lap.

"I think I better drive babe. But thank you for not killing my baby."He said. Rachel nodded, and slid back into the passenger's seat when Noah got out of the car to swap sides. She squeaked when the cold air from the open door hit her exposed flesh. Puck quickly closed the door.

"Put the hoodie back on Rach."He told her, handing it to her as he readjusted the seat and mirrors. Rachel put it back on, discreetly taking in the delicious smell of Noah.

"You know you're never getting this back right?"Noah looked over at her, bundled up in his too big jacket. He shrugged.

"I could think of worse things. That's my football hoodie. When you get home, take a look at the back of it."Rachel frowned, but nodded. Rachel chose to ignore that Noah was well and truly over the speed limit as he got her home. He pulled up at her house.

"Noah, you don't have to walk me to the door."Rachel said. Puck just looked at her, and continued up her driveway. He kissed her goodnight.

"I'll..."kiss "...see..."kiss "...you..."kiss "...tomorrow..." Rachel said raggedly. Puck kissed her again urgently. He pulled away with a groan.

"I really have to go. Mom will have my head if she finds out Nay was home alone for more than ten minutes."He pecked her lightly on the lips and jogged back to his car. Rachel opened her front door. She wandered into her living room and saw Quinn lying on the couch, her feet decidedly unswollen.

"Liar." She stated as she flopped down. Quinn looked at her and shrugged.

"Oh yeah, cause you totally minded that I sent your boyfriend to come and get you from dancing. Don't insult my intelligence." Rachel laughed.

"You know me too well. I am so having a food baby!"She groaned.

"I'm taking a shower." Rachel announced. She started walking towards the stairs.

"Rachel Barbara Berry! Stop right now! Puck totally claimed you!"Quinn exclaimed. Rachel frowned.

"Take the hoodie off Rachel."Rachel did what she was told. The back of the hoodie had the number 20 and the word Puckerman across the shoulders.

"He is totally claiming his territory Rachel. You should be impressed. He's never done that before." Rachel blushed.

"Now go take a shower. You reek!"Quinn said playfully. Rachel jogged up the stairs. She pulled her phone out of her dance bag.

"Checked the back of the hoodie. I should probably see it as you marking your territory, but I kinda like everyone knowing I'm yours." She sent the text and went and took a shower. She checked the new text on her phone.

"Ur my sharing u wit any1" Rachel smiled and fell into peaceful sleep

***

**Well, that car scene made me feel like I was 17 again, except I'm nowhere near as bendy as Rachel, and my high school boyfriend was nowhere NEAR as hot as Mark Salling! I hope that the quote in this chapter is easier to find! **

**Also, for anyone who hasn't seen **_**Centre Stage**_**, this is the clip of the scene I'm talking about, and will be modelling the Glee Club's performance on! http:// www. youtube. com/ watch?v= W-a8PpHDVRo **

**Just take out the spaces!**

**I've also had a request for Puck to be more badass... It didn't really feature here because I'd already written the chapter, but I promise it's coming in the next one!**

**Reviews are love people! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Right, so I haven't uploaded in a while, but the good news is I've drafted all the way up to most of chapter 10, so go team! **

**Kuddlebunnie was the only one to get the quote in the last chapter, which was "exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy" from Legally Blonde, said by Rachel. This chapter has three quotes, one from a book/tv show, and two from movies, and if anyone gets all three, I'll name a character after you, so good luck!**

**Also, it was pointed out that the text at the end of the last chapter didn't make sense...it was supposed to read **_**Ur my girl. Not sharing u wit any1**_** so thanks to heyhiyahowyadoin for pointing that out... look out for the return of Puck the badass as well **

**Question: do Americans know what gumboots are?**

**Do not own! But I highly advise looking at the YouTube clip in the last chapter for the dance scene. **

***

A look out the window confirmed what Rachel saw on the weather forecast she'd pulled up online. The weather sucked. She sighed. Her muscles ached as she pulled on black stockings and a denim skirt. She pulled on a plain black tee and had no shame in wearing her gumboots. She pulled a brush through her hair, and headed for the stairs.

"Rachel, Puck gave you his hoodie for a reason! Go put it on right now!"Quinn called out to her. Rachel turned around

"So not desperate?" She asked.

"Definately not! Not wearing it is like, bad mojo!"Rachel went back to her room and then remerged downstairs, rolling the sleeves of the hoodie. She gratefully accepted the travel cup of coffee off Quinn. She opened the refrigerator looking for snacks. Quinn began to rummage through the cupboards for the same thing.

"Chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter? Oh that sounds amazing! We'll be taking you" Quinn stated, throwing them into her handbag. Rachel jumped when the thunder clapped loudly. Her phone rang. She listened for a second and hung up.

"That was Noah. He's out front but doesn't want to get out of the car because Naomi is freaking out about the storm."Quinn nodded. They both popped umbrellas open and ran out the door. They slid into the truck, both noting the tears sliding down Naomi's face. Rachel's heart went out to her.

"Hey, Naomi, if you want, Noah and I can walk you into school today."She said. Naomi nodded.

"You sure you don't mind being seen with your big brother?"Puck asked. Naomi shook her head violently. Puck parked as close to the school as he could. Rachel didn't bother with an umbrella for the short run, so she grabbed Naomi's hand and they ran to the shelter.

"Ok, Nay, show us the way to your classroom."Puck ordered. Naomi grabbed both their hands, pointing out major locations like the principal's office (she definitely was Puck's little sister, her most recent trip was for kicking a boy in the family jewels for ruining her game...she claimed that she warned him not to interfere and therefore he was fair game), the nurse's office (another location Naomi frequented) and the cafeteria.

"And this is my cubby."She said, pointing out the Disney Princess and Elvis pictures proudly. She hung her bag up and took off her raincoat. She directed Rachel and Puck into the classroom, and pointed out her desk.

"Ms. Fowler, Ms. Fowler! This is my big brother, Noah. He's the biggest badass on the planet, and the bestest big brother ever! And this is Rachel. She's his girlfriend. She has two daddies and no mommy and Noah says that when she sings she sounds even prettier than all the Disney princesses and Joan Jett put together! Ok, you can go now!"Naomi pushed Puck and Rachel to the door. Rachel started giggling.

"Did you really say that, you big softie? Don't worry, badasses can blush too!"Puck looked at his feet, mumbling about making a comparison for Nay. Rachel stopped him, and put a hand on his cheek.

"No, really, that was a lovely thing to say. Thank you."She rose to tip toes and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Good morning by the way." She added. They were right near the car. Rachel pulled the hood up over her head and they ran, hand in hand, to the car.

***

Quinn, Rachel and Puck wandered into the school and nearly walked straight into Mr. Schuester.

"Ok guys, go dump your stuff in the auditorium, we're there all day. After that, go help move stuff from the choir room! Thanks guys!"They nodded their agreement. After moving everything, Mr Schue let anyone who wanted to, change into more comfortable clothing. Rachel put on her jazz pants and a pink singlet, and moved to the stage to stretch. She lay on the ground, and stretched one leg into the air, and pulled it so it rested next to her ear. She held it for thirty seconds, and switched legs, cringing when she heard a click from her hip. She sat up and saw Artie, Mercedes and Puck, staring, aghast. She shrugged, stood up, and sank into the Russian splits, sighing with relief when the tightness in her thighs released. Mr. Schuester called the group to take a seat.

"Ok, we know that Higher Ground is for sure a regionals number. So until we pick other songs, I think we'd be best to work on a number we know we want to do, and get it right. I have the sheet music here, and I figure we learn the vocals now, and then work on choreography and with the band in the afternoon."

***

They had learned the vocals fairly easily. Mr Schue was working with Artie on combining vocals with the bassline, in case they had to make some changes. The rest of the group was taking a break.

"Oh my goodness. I am craving Thai food like you would not believe. I would happily murder you all for a Satay Stick."Quinn groaned. A few people murmured their agreement.

"Yo Mr. Schue!"Matt called out. He looked up from the guitar he was playing.

"Would you freak if we ordered takeout?"Matt asked.

"I wouldn't, but all deliveries have to go through reception, and Figgins would freak. And I'm not letting any of you cut so that you can go get it."Mr. Schuester said.

"But Mr. Schue, Quinn here is pregnant, and she has her needs. She's also threatened our personal safety for a Satay stick."Matt complained.

"And how are you planning on paying for this?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"I have my dad's credit card. I'm a regular at Peace, Love and Thai Food Mr. Schue. I'll order over the phone and pay with the card, and you could have Ms. Pillsbury come in and supervise us and you could go get it."Rachel said.

"It'll totally be a team bonding exercise" Matt said. Mr. Schue hesitated.

"I'll throw in some extra fish cakes for you!"Rachel placated.

"Does everyone have cash to cover their share?"Mr. Schue asked. When everyone agreed, he nodded.

"OK, fine!" he said.

"Ok, I'll make the order now. I'll just get a few banquet deals, they give a good mix. Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, go steal plates from home ec. Brittany, Santana, go get Ms. Pillsbury. Boys, go swipe a trash can, and some air freshener from the janitors."Rachel called out. She opened her phone book and made the call.

"Ok Mr. Schue, they said they can have it ready in fifteen minutes, so you should probably leave now. Take the card, but mention my name and you shouldn't have a problem."Rachel said, handing Mr. Schuester the credit card. Rachel waved hello to Ms. Pillsbury, and began rummaging through her bag for bandaids. Most of the ones on her feet were falling off, and she needed to replace them before her feet began to bleed again. They weren't there. She slipped on Puck's hoodie and put on her Uggs.

"Guys, I'm going to my locker, I'll be right back." Rachel walked out into the hallway. She froze momentarily when she saw Karovsky with his girlfriend, but she forced herself to keep walking.

"Puck might have claimed you, but you will never be one of us. You'll just be some designer baby freak with AIDS ridden faggot parents."Karovsky snarled. Rachel didn't even have time to flinch away from the slushie that was thrown in her face. She wiped her eyes.

"It's almost a shame. You spent how many years on your knees, praying for a big dick, only to become one."She sniffed distastefully. She went to her locker, rescued her bandaids and her slushie survival kit and headed back into the auditorium.

"Rachel, what the hell happened?"Quinn asked. Rachel shrugged.

"Its fine." she said, picking up her dance bag.

"Rachel, it is so not fine. Who did this?" Puck demanded. Rachel looked up at him and sighed.

"It was Karovsky. He was showing his herpes rag of a girlfriend what a big man he is."She muttered. She looked down at the hoodie, which was in the process of being stained with lime corn syrup.

"I'm sorry Noah, this is probably ruined."She said mournfully.

"Don't worry about it. Go take a shower."He kissed her on the forehead and made a face at the taste left on his lips. Rachel headed up to the showers backstage. Puck cracked his knuckles.

"Excuse me."He said tersely.

***

Puck knew exactly where to look. He walked straight to the guy's change room and fist bumped Karovsky's nose.

"You do not touch her."He growled. He grabbed Karovsky by the lapels.

"She. Is. Mine." he snarled.

"You don't talk to her. You don't look at her. You don't even think about her. You sure as hell..."

"Dude, I know you're into freaky shit in the bedroom, seriously, Berry? Does she have beer flavoured nipples?"Puck slammed Karovsky into the lockers.

"Do not Kanye me man! Pull any shit on my girl again and I'll Chris Brown you and Tiger Woods your mother. We clear?"Puck resisted the urge to spit in his face, and satisfied himself with slamming Karovsky against the lockers again. He took three deep breaths and walked back to the auditorium.

He saw Rachel sitting on the stage, in a cropped dancing top and the same top as before, eating cookies and peanut butter with Quinn. She looked up at him

"What did you do?"She asked. He shrugged and snagged a cookeie.

"I took care of some things."He said as innocently as he could. Rachel cringed.

"I don't like the sound of that. I choose to live in ignorance. Don't tell me what you did."She said.

***

Lunch was awesome. Rachel was clearing discarded containers as Brittany and Santana stretched and Tina and Mercedes smuggled plates back to home ec. She laughed at Puck's concentrating face as he restrung the electric guitar, and watched as the electric drums got set up at the back of the auditorium. She turned to see Finn standing on the stage.

"Hey Finn," she said, bending over to pick up a random chopstick.

"Hey," he responded. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I'm sorry about what I said the other day. And I'm sorry I did all that stuff to you. It wasn't cool."Rachel smiled.

"Thanks Finn. Are we friends now?"He grinned.

"Yeah, we're friends."The doors swung open to reveal Quinn, fresh from a trip to the cafeteria to get Sprite. Rachel read Finn's face.

"You still love her." She said simply. She threw the empty boxes in the trash. She gestured for Finn to follow her to the barre. She stepped into first position and dropped into a plie.

"She still loves you too. Finn, she wanted that baby to be yours so badly. That's why she lied. She lied because she knew she'd lose you. She knew when the truth came out, you wouldn't want her anymore and you wouldn't want your best friend either. She did the wrong thing, but she had the right intentions. Just think about it."Rachel said, before dropping into a port de bras backward. She shrugged at Finn, and then stepped into second position before starting the process again.

***

"Ok, I'm going to work with the boys on the music at the back of the hall. We'll play unplugged. I want everyone else to start on the choreography on the stage."Mr. Schuester said.

"Ok, I think the best way to do this is to let everybody improvise one by one, and we'll pull the best bits from everybody's work and go from there."Rachel suggested. The group nodded. Rachel stood on the stage.

"Playback!"She called.

***

Everybody had busted their butts all afternoon.

"OK guys, let's put it all together." Mr. Schuster called out. Finn sat down at the drum kit, and Puck and Artie both plugged themselves into the amps. Rachel twisted her sweaty hair into a messy bun.

"We're still pretty rough, because we've only just gotten it all together and danced with the music. Don't freak if someone stops, it just means that we haven't tightened that part of the chore."Rachel explained. Brittany whispered something to Rachel. Rachel nodded.

Artie started the bassline. Rachel tapped the beat against her thigh.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!"She counted them in as the melody came in. The group joined in singing the chorus, and then froze as Rachel ran at Brittany. Brittany caught Rachel's foot, and pushed her upward, and Rachel flew into a back flip she barely landed.

When Artie sang the line about preachers who keep on preaching, the group all made the sign of the cross before launching into a double turn.

The group formed a semi circle as Artie broke into the speaking part. Each person had a solo for a few counts, but most people hadn't figured out what they were doing so they just stood there. The music started speeding up at the end, and Quinn took over, clapping out the beats. Tina, Brittany, Santana, Matt, Mike and Kurt all formed a V with Rachel at the peak. Quinn screamed a command and they all launched into super fast pirouettes before collapsing onto the floor when the song finished.

Mr Schuester was on his feet cheering.

"Guys, that was AMAZING!"He said. They all grinned.

"Ok, quick feedback. Brittany, Rachel, you need to work on that lift. Rachel needs to get more height so she can land without nearly breaking her neck. Quinn, Mercedes, we might put you on mikes near the band and modify the chore for you, because I'm concerned you might not be able to keep up as well. We'll figure out your solos as we go, but this is going to rock regionals!"Rachel put her hand up.

"Can this be our last number? I doubt I'll be able to sing after this!"She said breathlessly. The other dancers nodded furiously.

***

Reviews= love guys! Next chapter will be up VERY soon!


	7. Chapter 7

So, apparently the quotes weren't as obvious as I thought they were! They were:

**"She. Is. Mine."** Originally said by Bill in True Blood or Dead Until Dark (first Southern Vampire Mysteries books), but then said by Puck

**"You don't talk to her. You don't look at her. You don't even think about her."** Originally said by Andy in the Breakfast Club, but said by Puck

**"...Does she have beer flavoured nipples?" **originally said by Patrick in 10 Things I Hate About You, but then said by Karovsky.

I have a request... there's a jam session coming up in a few chapters, can anyone suggest some good sing along songs? I have a total mental blank on them!

Don't own, but I'm willing to share!

***

They worked on tightening up the choreography for the last half hour of the day. Rachel was pulling her shirt over her dance outfit when Puck came over to her.

"You know, I wouldn't have guessed that you have a belly ring."He commented. Rachel grinned.

"Broadway camp of 2007. I got it done in a seedy parlour in the Village. It was infected for a month afterward."She explained proudly. She zipped up her bag. She looked over at Quinn, who gestured that she was going out after school with Finn. Rachel gave her a thumbs up and waved.

"Do you need anything from your locker?"Puck asked her. Rachel shook her head

"Why?"She asked.

"Babe, you got slushied for the first time in how many weeks? No way are you going anywhere alone."He said bluntly. Rachel picked up his damp hoodie. Ms. Pillsbury had given her soda water to rinse it with straight after the attack so the green food colouring hadn't set into the fabric.

"I'm sorry they nearly ruined this Noah. I'll soak it properly when I get home."Rachel said.

"Seriously babe, not a big deal. You don't need a hoodie to prove you're my girl."Rachel smiled.

"Hey guys, I found out that there's karaoke on at Medion's tonight. Are you guys in? We'll have a Guitar Hero marathon some other weekend."Artie called out. Rachel grinned hopefully at Puck.

"Alright," he groaned.

"Wheels, Rach and I will be there!"Puck called out. Each group member agreed. Artie gave out his home address, so they could meet and go in together. Rachel flipped her phone out and took it down.

"Ooh, my dads have gone to visit my cousins and their baby. Quinn, we have an empty house til Sunday!" Rachel announced.

***

Rachel sank into her bathtub with a sigh. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of rain on her roof. She was going to enjoy herself tonight. Quinn and Finn were well on their way to making up, she'd had major input into a Glee number without having her head bitten off, and she was almost certain her boyfriend had defended her honour publically.

***

Rachel ran to answer the door.

"Hey, you're early," she commented, letting Puck kiss her cheek.

"Yeah, I figured we could hang out for a while before we meet everyone else."Rachel nodded.

"Well, I'm still getting ready, but make yourself comfortable in the living room. We have cable."She said. She turned on the flat screen and headed back upstairs. A few minutes later she heard the front door open and someone run up the stairs. Quinn flung her door open.

"We're back together! He told me he still loves me! Rach, I'm so happy!"Quinn squealed. Rachel abandoned her straightening iron and wrapped Quinn in a hug.

"Oh Quinn, that's just awesome for the two of you! Where is he now?" Rachel asked.

"He's in the living room. He's gonna watch TV until I'm ready."Rachel bit her lip.

"I sent Noah to do the same thing."She said. Quinn's eyes widened.

"Well, he's going to have to get used to it. I'm sure it'll be fine. What are you wearing?"

***

There had been a few grunts over which sport would be watched. After the road test of the new Lamborghini, Finn stuck his hand out.

"We cool bro?"He asked. Puck stared before reaching out and gripping it.

"Yeah bro, we're cool" He said. They both returned to watching _Top Gear_.

***

Rachel threw a few things into a purple clutch. She pulled her camera out and snapped a picture of her and Quinn.

"If I may say so myself, we are looking mighty fine tonight Ms. Berry" Quinn said.

"Couldn't agree more Ms. Fabray." They girls walked downstairs to find their boyfriends laughing over some car show. They looked at each other. "Boys!" Quinn mouthed to Rachel. Rachel nodded. Quinn cleared her throat. Both boys managed to tear their eyes away from the screen.

"Berry, are you wearing jeans?"Puck asked incredulously. Rachel nodded.

"Quinn made me get them."She explained. Quinn gestured to the knee length black dress that clung to her belly.

"And in exchange, Rachel forced me into getting this."Finn and Puck looked at each other.

"Good choice."They said together, nodding appreciatively.

"We're gonna go in my car. It's the biggest."Finn said. Rachel nodded and checked the time.

"Ooh, we have to go!"She said. She turned the TV off and waited for everyone to exit the house so she could set the alarm. She pulled the front door shut. She looked at her boyfriend.

"You ok?"She asked. He nodded.

"I'd be better if we'd gotten some alone time. Baby, you look so fucking gorgeous right now."Rachel turned in a circle so Puck could appreciate the dark denim jeans and black halterneck she was wearing. She slipped on her jacket. He kissed her firmly.

"I love how tall you are." He added. Rachel looked down at her purple stilettos in appreciation. She popped her umbrella and they ran to Finn's car.

***

"Oh dear Lord! Rachel Berry, you grew a sense of style at last!"Kurt cried out dramatically. Rachel had just walked into Artie's living room with Puck, Quinn and Finn in tow after saying hello to Artie's mom.

"We're just waiting on the other footballers and the cheerleaders."Mercedes said. Rachel nodded.

"In order of doppelganger week on Facebook, we're trying to work out our celebrity alter egos" Kurt said.

"So far Kurt is Beyonce, and I'm Aretha, and we're trying to decide if Tina is Shirley Manson or Gwen Stefani" Mercedes explained. Rachel took in Tina's ripped jeans, the rose embroidered Docs (Rachel winked when she saw those) and her 'Land Rights for Gay Whales' shirt.

"You've got to be kidding me. Tina is so Pink it's insane!"She said. Tina grinned.

"I can live with that."Tina said.

"I personally see a connection with Quinn and the legendary Ms. Britney Spears." Tina added. Quinn blushed as the group nodded emphatically.

"What about me?"Rachel asked.

"Am I Idina or Babs?"She joked.

"Ah, girl, don't take this the wrong way, but you are SO Lady Gaga."Mercedes said.

"Totally. With the exception of right now and the _Just Dance_ video, neither of you wear pants, you're both totally theatrical, and your whole lives are about your craft. It's a compliment. Gaga and Beyonce did collaborate twice" Kurt said. Rachel grinned.

"She is freakishly talented. _The Fame_ is like crack to me. It could be worse. Someone could tell you that you remind them of Pamela Anderson."Rachel said.

"Or Miley Cyrus" Tina added with a shudder.

"I think we should sing doppelganger songs tonight."Mercedes said.

"Agreed."

"Hey, Artie, Mom told me to tell you there's more soda in the refrigerator and she made cookies if you want them. Oh-em-gee! Rachel! Hi! What are you doing here?"Rachel hugged the girl who could only be Artie's sister.

"I'm in Glee with your brother. Oh my gosh, I never made the connection! Arianne and I dance together. Artie, why didn't you tell me you have such an awesome sister?"Rachel said. Artie's phone beeped.

"Mike's car broke down. He was driving everyone else. They're gonna try and make it to the restaurant, but it doesn't look good."Artie announced.

"That sucks."Quinn commented.

"Hey, Artie, do you think we could lift you into my car? It would save your mom a trip."Kurt suggested.

"That would be great, if you guys don't mind?"Artie replied.

***

Getting to the restaurant had been reasonably stress free. Kurt moved his car as close as he could to Artie's house, and Finn and Puck had no trouble lifting Artie into the passenger's seat. Artie gave both cars copies of his disabled parking sticker, so they got awesome parking that meant nobody's hair got went before entering the restaurant. Rachel walked up to the pimply waiter at the door, who looked like a college freshman.

"Table for eight please. We require wheelchair access and we'd like to be close to the karaoke booth as well."She stated politely. Puck's jaw tightened when he saw the waiter look Rachel up and down before consulting his floor plan.

"We'll just have to move a few tables around, but we'll do anything for you."He said. Puck stood behind Rachel and wrapped both his arms around her waist.

"That dude is a douche bag."Puck commented. When he returned to seat them, Puck served him with a death stare. Rachel raised an eyebrow when the waiter attempted to pull her chair out for her.

"Back off bro. I got this" Puck said through clenched teeth. When the waiter left to get menus, Rachel leaned over to Puck.

"Don't get bent out of shape Noah. I know who I'm here with."She said. She squeezed his hand lightly.

"Yeah, but he doesn't" Puck replied.

"Just ignore him. If it gets bad, I'll just babble about Broadway to him. That scares most people off."

***

The group was sharing their entree when the books full of song choices came around.

"We doppelganger-ing?" Rachel asked. Quinn, Kurt, Mercedes and Tina all nodded fervently. Rachel scratched a song down. The chart went around the group.

***

Rachel smiled as their plates were cleared. Yet again, she managed to shock with how much she was able to eat. She leaned back on her seat and poked her tongue out at Puck.

"Having fun?"She asked him. He nodded.

"Actually, yeah. Way more fun than hoping somebody will buy me beer."There was a flurry of movement. They looked over to see Matt, Mike, Brittany and Santana walk in.

"You made it."Rachel smiled. She got up and sat down on Puck's lap so Santana could have her seat.

"Yeah, eventually. The lesson here is that cars do not run on doughnut grease."Santana said. Rachel tapped the closest waiter on the shoulder and scowled when she realised she'd tapped the seedy waiter.

"We'd like another four places added to the table. We'd also like you to bring over the karaoke list please."Rachel said. The waiter oogled Santana.

"So many pretty girls at one table, I'm sure I can manage that for you."He said. Santana's jaw dropped.

"I'm sorry, are you hitting on me? Let me put a stop to that brain fart right now. Girls with asses like mine do not talk to boys with faces like yours." Santana snapped, waving the waiter away.

"Uck, what a slimeball!"Santana said. Rachel nodded sympathetically.

"Oh, I know. I've been putting up with his advances all night."Rachel said.

"Rachel, I'm seeing Nicole from PCD and Jessica Simpson, do you agree?"Kurt called out. Rachel nodded. Brittany looked around frantically.

"Did they go to the bathroom? I can't see them anywhere!"She said.

"No sweetie," Kurt said, and he proceeded to explain the concept of a doppelganger to her.

***

"Next up to the mike is Rachel Berry" Rachel curtseyed at the cheers coming from the table and winked at Puck before she began to sing

_That's M-O-N-E-Y, so sexy, I_

_Damn I love the Jag, the  
jet and the mansion Oh yea  
And I enjoy the gifts and  
__trips__ to the islands Oh yea  
_

Rachel started twisting her hips in rhythm with the beat_  
_

_It's good to live  
expensive you know it but  
My knees get weak, intensive_

_When you give me k-kisses  
That's money honey  
When I'm your lover and your mistress  
That's money honey  
When you touch me it's so delicious  
That's money honey  
__Baby__ when you tear me to pieces  
That's money honey_

_That's M-O-N-E-Y, so sexy, I  
That's money honey  
_

Rachel put the mike back in the stand, and flipped her hair off her face

_Damn I'd love a boat by the  
beach on the west coast Oh yea  
And I'd enjoy some fine  
champagne while my girls toast Oh yea_

_It's good to live  
expensive you know it but  
My knees get weak, intensive_

_When you give me k-kisses  
That's money honey  
When I'm your lover and your mistress  
That's money honey  
When you touch me it's so delicious  
That's money honey  
__Baby__ when you tear me to pieces  
That's money honey  
_

She looked over and Puck as she sang the bridge

_You know I appreciate the finer things  
But it's not what makes me happiest baby  
I can do without it babe  
Your tender loving's more  
than I can handle  
Never burn out this candle baby, baby_

Rachel really started to move with the music now

_k-k-k-kisses  
That's money honey  
When I'm your lover and your mistress  
That's money honey  
When you touch me it's so delicious  
That's money honey  
__Baby__ when you tear me to pieces  
That's money honey _

_When you give me k-kisses  
That's money honey  
When I'm your lover and your mistress  
That's money honey  
When you touch me it's so delicious  
That's money honey  
__Baby__ when you tear me to pieces  
That's money honey  
_

_When you give me k-kisses  
That's money honey  
When I'm your lover and your mistress  
That's money honey  
When you touch me it's so delicious  
That's money honey  
_

_Baby__ when you tear me to pieces  
That's money honey_

_That's M-O-N-E-Y, so sexy, I_

Rachel bowed playfully to all the cheers. She began to make her way back to the table when the seedy waiter stepped directly into her path.

"You know, I love it when girls sing to me."He said. Rachel stared at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."She stated firmly.

"Sure you do. That song was hot."Rachel pushed past him and moved towards the table.

"Oh bless your heart; you actually thought I was singing about you. Try again. I was singing about my boyfriend, you know, the angry one with the guns and the badass Mohawk."She gestured to the table.

"Do yourself a favour and back the hell off, because I am not above gouging your eyes out with my shoe. Also, grab me your manager, I'd like a word."Rachel snapped. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. He scampered off.

Rachel sat back down at the table.

"Anyone got complaints about the service tonight? I just asked to see management."Rachel said.

***

Rachel turned on the crocodile tears and threatened four types of legal action. Santana put on a Spanish accent and spoke Spanglish to the manager about how she came to America to get away from men like that. The result had been watching the waiter get escorted off the premises, free dessert, a 30% discount on their bill and as much karaoke time as they liked. Rachel laughed as Kurt blew kisses to the crowd after his rendition of _Bills, Bills, Bills._

"Rachel you have your crazy eyes on. What are you planning?"Matt said hesitantly. Rachel grinned.

"The restaurant is almost empty. We're the only ones still doing karaoke. We need to do a group number."Rachel said simply. She knew how to use a standard karaoke machine, so she picked the song and gestured for the group to come up.

There were only three mikes, so they all crowded around and shared. A giggle echoed when they saw the song Rachel had picked, and they all began to sing along;

_I've paid my dues -  
Time after time -  
I've done my sentence  
But committed no crime -  
And bad mistakes  
I've made a few  
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -  
But I've come through_

_We are the champions - my friends  
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -  
We are the champions -  
We are the champions  
No time for losers  
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -_

_I've taken my bows  
And my curtain calls -  
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it_

_I thank you all -_

_But it's been no bed of roses  
No pleasure cruise -  
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -  
And I ain't gonna lose -_

_We are the champions - my friends  
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -  
We are the champions -  
We are the champions  
No time for losers  
'Cause we are the champions - of the world –_

"Guys, quick, bunch up!"Rachel called out. She gave her camera to a waitress and got her to take a few pictures of them. Rachel's camera had made the rounds of the table that night, and she couldn't wait to see what was on there.

"Um, I don't know about you guys, but my super Asian parents are super strict about curfew, and I'm cutting it close to mine, and I really don't wanna get shipped off to Korean camp again so I can learn respect for my elders. Once was bad enough."Tina said. She asked the waitress for the bill. The group all threw cash in, and headed out to the parking lot, Puck with a tight hold on Rachel and Santana wedged between Finn and Mercedes. The waiter seemed like the kind of guy who would wait around for round two. Apparently getting thrown out of work had a sobering effect on him, because he was nowhere to be found. The group exchanged hugs and goodbyes. Rachel climbed into the back of Finn's car with Quinn, and rolled her eyes as Finn drove off at granny speed.

***

So yeah, chapter seven! Let me know if you see the quote, or if you can think of any sing along songs!

Also- I have discovered the magic that is Twitter... I follow the Glee cast and act like we're best friends... www. Twitter. Com/ redlipsticklove

Follow me!! (wow, I felt like a cult leader just then)


	8. Chapter 8

Wow, so many of you got the She's the Man quote... to be clear, it was Santana saying: **"I'm sorry, are you hitting on me. Let me put a stop to that brain fart right now. Girls with asses like mine do not talk to boys with faces like yours."**__ So kudos to JoseyRae, X5-456, lilkaykay, tintintiney, swim1azul, ashswim, RavenWolf2089,mag721, pinkbananasmoothie, and HauntingGreenEyes who got it! Thanks for all the reviews guys, it's the best response I've gotten to anything I've written

This is officially the longest fic I've written! Please keep up the support!

No quote in this chapter

Don't own, but how bout we share?

***

"My mom probably won't be too impressed if I break curfew. I won't be able to stick around for long."Finn said.

"Do you have a curfew Noah?"Rachel asked.

"Technically yes, but actually, no. My mom started a thirty six hour shift at the hospital tonight, and Naomi is at my grandmother's this weekend."Puck said.

***

Finn pulled up at Rachel and Quinn's place. Rachel bid Quinn goodbye, gave Quinn a wink and dragged Noah out of the car. As soon as the house was unlocked, Puck had Rachel on the couch, kissing her furiously. Rachel responded in kind, straddling him as she had the other night, her fingers tracing the back of his neck. Her head rolled back as she felt him trail moist kisses down her throat. He twisted them so Rachel had her back on the couch, her leg hitched around his waist.

"Rach, those shoes. And the jeans. You have to wear them more often. I thought you looked sexy in the barely there skirts. I was so, so, so wrong."Rachel smiled.

"I won't lie. You nearly killing that jerk was hot. It was really hot."Rachel pulled him into a kiss again, her hand pressed against the muscle of his lower back. She shied away when she felt his hand brush against her bare stomach.

"Too far?"He asked, studying her face.

"Not exactly. I'm incredibly ticklish."She admitted. She really didn't like the look he had on his face.

"Noah, I'm warning you, don't."Rachel said cautiously. Too late. He started to tickle her mercilessly.

"Noah! Please! Stop! STOP!"Rachel gasped out, before she managed to wriggle out from underneath his grip and move to the other side of the room.

"I really hate it when people tickle me Noah."Rachel said breathlessly. He started to move toward her. She stood up abruptly.

"Just...don't touch me right now. I'm going to go upstairs, change and get my laptop. When I get downstairs I'll be calm enough to explain, ok?"She ran out of the room and left Puck to wonder what the hell he did wrong.

***

Rachel took a deep breath and stepped into the living room. She calmly hooked her camera's memory card to her Macbook. She had changed into pyjama pants and a spaghetti strapped singlet, and she sat cross legged on the couch facing her boyfriend.

"I wasn't planning on having this conversation for at least a month; but it's come up so here we go." Rachel said.

"It happened at Broadway Camp last year. I met someone. He seemed sweet. It was just little things that were off. I asked him not to tickle me. He continued to. If he didn't like who I was talking to, he used to come up and kiss me, even after I told him I was uncomfortable with it. If I said anything he didn't like, he would belittle me in front of everyone, including the directors. My confidence was shot, so I got a particularly small part that year."

She took a deep breath and stared at her knee. If she saw Noah's face she wouldn't be able to continue.

"The final straw was opening night. Dorm security was fairly lax, and he'd been pressuring me for a while. He was the first person to show any kind of interest in me, and I figured if I gave him what he wanted everything might be ok. I figured it was going to happen at some point, and the chances of it being back home were pretty much nonexistent. I thought he'd try and be a little romantic about it. Instead I got to lay there, fully clothed, feeling like I was being torn apart because his idea of foreplay was to say 'finally' and push me down on the bed. He rolled over and fell asleep straight afterwards. He didn't say a word to me. I broke up with him the next day. I know you aren't him, I know that, but it was a freaky sense of déjà vu."Rachel looked up at Noah, a single tear sliding down her face. Noah reached up to wipe it away.

"Is this ok?"He asked. She nodded. He pressed a kiss onto her forehead.

"I'm so sorry."He said quietly.

"Not your fault I made a stupid decision Noah."Rachel said. She crawled over and placed herself on his lap.

"Who is the prick? If I come across him I swear I'll break his neck."Puck said resolutely.

"Funny you should say that," Rachel said.

"Baby, please tell me he isn't that douche in tights you do ballet with," Noah said. Rachel shook her head.

"Not quite. He's the male lead of Vocal Adrenaline."

"Well, we're definitely going to have to beat them now. But babe, say the word and his face is Play-Doh."Rachel rested her head on his shoulder.

"Somehow, I have no doubt about that."Rachel said. They sat like that for a few minutes. The laptop beeped. Rachel picked it up and settled herself back where she was. Noah put his chin on her shoulder as she flicked through the pictures. Clearly, Mercedes, Tina and Kurt had enjoyed themselves in the mirror of the girl's restroom. There were a few really great pictures in there. Rachel stopped at one.

"Who took this?"It was a candid shot, taken in black and white. It was when they were waiting for the table to be extended. Rachel was on Puck's lap, and they were both smiling at each other.

"No idea."

"I really like it"Rachel commented. She continued flicking through the pictures. She yawned.

"I'll Facebook these later. Do you want to pick a movie?"She asked. The front door creaked open. Quinn stuck her head in the living room.

"I'm dead guys. Rachel; lets blow off mommy-lates tomorrow, shall we?"Rachel checked the time. It was reaching one am.

"Fine with me. Night Quinn!"Rachel replied. Rachel flipped the lights off, laid down with a blanket over her and her head on Puck's lap. She didn't even make it through the opening credits.

***

Rachel jumped as the cold air hit her back.

"What's going on?"She asked groggily. She tightened her grip around Puck's neck when she realised her feet weren't on the ground.

"It's ok Rach. You fell asleep, so I was just putting you to bed before I left."He explained.

"Noah, it's the middle of the night. You'll have an accident if you try to drive home. Just stay here. Take me to the front door so I can check everything's locked up."Puck did what he was told then carried Rachel upstairs.

"Quinn lives in the guestroom. You don't mind sharing with me do you? Otherwise I'll crash in my parents' room."Rachel said. Puck shook his head. Rachel pulled a pair of sweatpants out of her drawer.

"I bought these for my dad, but they were too long and I never got around to returning them."She explained. She pointed out her bathroom to Noah and slipped into bed.

"A teddy bear? Really, how old are you?"He teased.

"No mocking the bear. It's the only thing I have from my mother. Now turn the light off."Rachel mumbled. He hit the switch and slipped into bed with her.

***

It was the first time Noah Puckerman had ever stayed the night. He looked over at Rachel. She was a solid sleeper. She was on her stomach, hair fanned out around her, one hand wrapped around her bear, and the other splayed across his chest. Did he mention she was a heat seeking missile? Not that he was complaining. He closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

***

Rachel took her time waking up. She looked over at her boyfriend. All traces of Puck had left his face, and all that remained was Noah. His hair was growing out. Rachel ran a hand across his head, enjoying the feeling of closely cropped hair against her palm. He opened his eyes.

"Morning," she said quietly.

"Good morning to you too, snuggler" he replied. She rolled onto her back and grinned.

"What?"He asked. Rachel wrinkled her nose playfully before answering.

"This is just...nice. I could do this all the time."She stretched. He shuddered when he heard her click, pop and crunch. She looked at him.

"Dancer's body. You get used to the sounds it makes."Rachel explained. She laughed at his face.

"You look as foggy as I feel. Come on, time for coffee."She said.

***

Quinn froze when she saw Puck and Rachel walk downstairs hand in hand.

"Oh relax Quinn. I stayed over and slept. Nothing else." Puck shot out. Rachel looked up from her coffee plunger.

"It was really late. I was worried he'd have an accident, and you know how bad the sofa bed is for your back."She added. Quinn nodded, and flipped the pancakes in the pan over. Rachel handed Puck a cup of coffee. He smiled and thanked her. Rachel got strawberries out and began slicing them up.

"I don't know about you Quinn, but my body is crying out to be reduced to aching muscle spasms that only a session of Pilates can bring. You in?"Quinn nodded. She brought the plate of pancakes over to the table and they began to eat.

***

Quinn, Rachel and Puck were all in that comfortable half asleep after a meal zone when a reminder beeped on Puck's phone.

"Oh crap! I have to pick Nay up in fifteen minutes! Quinn, breakfast was awesome, but I really have to run."He said. He bolted upstairs and emerged a few seconds later, fully dressed. He pecked Rachel's lips, and promised to call her later. Rachel unlocked the front door for him, and watched his car thunder down the street. She returned to see Quinn putting away the last of the dishes. Rachel didn't like how pissed she looked.

"I'm going to go change. I'll see you in the basement."Rachel said.

***

Quinn came down to the basement. They both started ab exercises in silence. Rachel could take it no longer.

"I didn't sleep with him Q. I know you and I don't always see eye to eye about sex, but I'm not just going to fall into bed with him. Not after what happened with Nathan."Rachel said.

"I know that Rachel. You're not stupid enough to end up like me."Quinn replied. Rachel drew a deep breath. She flipped over to her stomach and began superman lifts.

"Quinn, I love and respect you, and I think our friendship is strong enough that I can say what I'm about to say and we'll be friends afterwards."She moved to all fours and began arm and leg extensions.

"I think you need to let Noah be the father of his child."Rachel said. The tension in the air was almost tangible.

"Quinn, from what I understand of the True Love Waits movement, one of the reasons that sex is saved until marriage is so that your body isn't abused in one night stand scenarios. So that a girl can't fall pregnant and is left alone to deal with the fallout while the father of the baby gets away scot free. By not letting Noah step up and take responsibility for the child he had an equal share in creating, you are giving him exactly what you were protecting yourself with by saving yourself. I'm his girlfriend and I'm staying this Quinn; if anyone doesn't want him having a baby with someone else, it's me. I've said my piece, and I'm going to shut up now."Rachel put her iPod in, and pulled herself into the Plank. When she looked up, Quinn was gone.

***

Ok, this is a little bit shorter, but the next chapter deals with some really deep stuff, so I didn't want to clutter it with too many issues. I warn you, the next chapter deals with religion, and in a rather positive light, so if you have a problem with that; now is probably the time to stop reading.


	9. Chapter 9

So, I have to say, one of the things I've found disappointing about Glee is its treatment of Christianity. Quinn's parents are totally unrepresentative of Christianity as a whole, and I really feel that they've given Christians a bad name... I'm making an attempt to rectify that. All of that being said, this chapter is unashamedly pro-Catholic. I've been a Catholic my whole life, and in my experience, the Catholic Church has the most accepting view of unwed mothers...my mother was one, and she works for the Catholic Church. It's also the religion I have the most experience in, and I'm a firm believer of writing what you know. I mention some Catholic practices within this chapter, which I'll footnote with a brief explanation.

I am more than happy to dialogue with people about Catholicism, but I am not here to convert or religion bash, and I really DON'T want people flaming me about religion, because quite frankly, I'm going to ignore it. I find trolling really immature, and I'm not going to fight with a total stranger on the internet. That's really not cool, and like I said, I'm just providing my experience within the chapter.

I don't own Glee; I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Also- find the quotes!

***

Rachel walked upstairs and saw a note written on the family communication board in Quinn's curly script

_R- I'm not mad at you, I just have a lot of things to think about. I took your car for a drive, I hope you don't mind. Q_.

Rachel sighed. She had no idea what to do, so she did the only thing she could think of. She flopped onto the couch and watched _West Side Story._

***

Rachel was staring at the credits when she heard the front door open. Quinn held up her keys.

"I hope you don't mind. I filled her up."Rachel accepted the keys off her. Quinn muted the TV and sat down.

"So; I bumped into Terri Schuester and her sister today. They told me they don't want the baby anymore. I freaked, naturally. I was driving aimlessly until I found myself in the parking lot of St. Felicity's(1). I haven't been back into a church since I was kicked out of home. I certainly couldn't go back to mine. My daddy the pastor would probably order me stoned."Rachel rolled her eyes playfully and motioned for Quinn to continue.

"I was always taught that Catholics were bad. They worship statues and they try to buy God off(2). I never really understood it. I couldn't comprehend that things I was taught were so evil came out of a place that looked so beautiful. I figured that even if my parents were right, what was the worst that could happen by going in? I'm already pregnant, what other shenanigans can I get into?"Quinn took a sip out of her water bottle and continued.

"It felt different in there. I don't know how or why. There were all these people kneeling down the front. They were staring at this great big gold thing on the altar(3). The way they were acting, it was like their whole world was right there. I just sat down and watched. Not long after, they took it away. Most people cleared out pretty quickly after that. A young guy sat down next to me. I guessed he was a priest from the collar he was wearing. I am telling you now; I have never seen him before. He looked at me with such compassion; I thought my heart would break. He just looked at me and said; 'God isn't mad at you Quinn.' Rachel, I have never met this guy and he knew my name!(4) He took me over to a statue of a woman. It was stunning. It was hands down the most beautiful work of art I've ever seen. He told me it was Mary, the mother of Our Lord, who was an unmarried teenager when she carried the Son of God into the world."Quinn stopped abruptly.

"This isn't offending you is it?"Quinn asked. Rachel shook her head.

"No way. Please continue!" she said.

"I completely broke down. I told him every crappy and hairy detail of the situation. Rachel, it is the first time a religious person has looked at me without disgust since I started showing. He just looked at me with love. He told me that yeah, I made a mistake, but my mistakes don't put me beyond the reach of God's mercy. He gave me this book to read(5). He said he would pray for me, and he told me to ask Mary to guide me through the rest of my pregnancy.(6) My parents would FREAK if they knew I was going to do that."Quinn couldn't help but grin at her rebellion.

"He asked me to come back. He wants me to go to their service tomorrow, and he said he could put me in touch with people who could support me. Rachel, I think I want to become a Catholic. I have no idea how to do it, or where the idea came from, but I can't stop thinking about it!"Quinn was absolutely glowing. Rachel pulled her into a tight hug.

"Quinn, I know how hard it's been for you, losing church because of your parents. If this makes your life make sense, then you should go for it."Rachel said sincerely.

"I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen next. None at all. But whatever happens, I'm going to be ok."Quinn said. Rachel smiled.

"I never had any doubt of that. You're a survivor Quinn, there's no way you'd ever be anything but ok."

"You were right Rachel. This baby isn't just mine. I don't know what's going to happen, but Puck deserves the chance to be a father."Quinn said resolutely.

"We need to get the boys over here. It won't be a fun conversation, but it's one that has to be had."

***

Rachel was flitting around the kitchen when the boys arrived. She gave Finn a quick hug before greeting Puck with a kiss and a much tighter hug.

"I know you had something to do with this Rachel, so thank you" Puck whispered in her ear. She kissed him on the cheek

"I did what I thought was right. That's all you can do in this situation."She replied.

"Guys, the table is set, so let's eat before we do the talking thing." Quinn said.

***

Dinner had been served. Puck and Finn exchanged bemused looks when they saw Quinn and Rachel picking food items out of their bowls and dropping them into the other's plate.

"I hate tofu. It's absolutely vile. You may as well chew on the kitchen sponge. But I put it in because Quinn loves it."Rachel explained.

"And the texture of snow peas has made me want to heave my whole pregnancy, so Rachel is more than welcome to them."Quinn added. Finn and Puck exchanged dubious looks.

***

They were all fed and watered. The kitchen was sparkling, and there was no possible way to avoid the conversation any longer. Quinn cleared her throat.

"So, I have no idea what's going to happen. Terri Schuester no longer wants to adopt the baby. I really don't know what's coming next, but for the remainder of my pregnancy at least, I think Puck has the right to be the father to his child."Quinn said. Rachel could feel Puck squeeze her hand tighter.

"What does that mean? Do you need money?" Puck asked.

"My daddy has Quinn on his health insurance. The insurance company refuses to acknowledge his same sex partner, but he can claim for one dependent. Since I was already covered on dad's health insurance, daddy listed Quinn as his dependent. All her medical costs are covered, and my parents are willing to have Quinn live here as a surrogate second daughter, and support her financially the way they do me."Rachel explained.

"So I guess that means you come to doctor's visits."Quinn said. Finn sighed.

"This seriously sucks."He said. Rachel nodded.

"I agree."She said. She saw the hurt flash across Quinn and Puck's faces.

"I'm sorry. But yeah, for Finn and I this does suck. We get to watch our significant others have a baby together. I'm so willing to be the supportive girlfriend or best friend, and I'm sure Finn is happy to do the same, but it doesn't mean that it's an easy thing for us to do. I feel like I'm stuck behind an invisible wall, I can look in but I can't really be part of it. I know I'm a child of an unconventional lifestyle, but watching my boyfriend and best friend have a baby and the boy I used to have a pathetic crush on and I be ok with it and supportive of it? Not something I thought I'd ever live through." Rachel said. Finn nodded.

"But it is what it is, and I'm not walking away because it makes me feel a little uncomfortable."Rachel said. She leaned forward, trying to hide her tears in her hands. She felt the warm weight of Puck's hand on her back.

"Don't give your baby up because you think it's hard on us Quinn. We know what we're getting into. You have to do what is right for that baby. If giving her up is the most loving thing you can do, then you should do it, but if you think that you can be her mom, then you and Puck have to raise her. This might be a crappy situation none of us planned for, but this baby hasn't done anything wrong by being alive."Finn said. Rachel nodded.

"I really think I'd like to keep her, but I don't know how our lives will work."Quinn breathed.

"Here's the wrap guys. This baby has two guys, who would both give anything to be her dad. Is that such a bad thing? I'm living proof that unconventional parenting works. I have two dads and I've turned out ok," she turned to her boyfriend.

"Don't say it Noah,"

"Eh, it was too easy anyway."He replied.

"So yeah, maybe this kid will have two dads and a mom. Who can say no to more love? You'll live in a big house with lots of rooms. It'll work out. You'll just have to be creative."Rachel said.

"Rachel, I don't understand why you keep excluding yourself from these scenarios. If it's gonna take a village to raise this baby, you're coming along from the ride. How is it fair that she gets two daddies and only one mommy?" Quinn said.

"Even if it means slumming it in Brooklyn until I hit the big-time?" Rachel asked. Quinn nodded.

"Even then."The tension dissipated in the room. They all sat in quiet contemplation.

"You know, if Rachel and Quinn made out, and Puck and I made out, everyone would have kissed everyone."Finn said conversationally.

"Finn, NO! Just, NO! If the girls really want to, I'm not going to stop them, but I can't believe you even considered that! Who ARE you?" Puck blustered. He looked at Rachel and Quinn hopefully.

"How do you know we haven't?"Quinn asked.

"I mean, we've lived together for over a month, shared a bed countless times, and you know how one thing leads to another..."Rachel added.

"Whoa, seriously?"Puck asked. Rachel just shrugged and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

***

Rachel walked out to the car with Puck.

"I have to tell my mom."Puck said. Rachel looked up at him.

"Do you want me to be there?"She asked.

"Thanks babe, but I think I need to do this alone."He said. He kissed her forehead.

"You're awesome. I'll let you know how it goes." He said. Rachel stood outside until the flash of his tail lights disappeared.

***

Ok, so the next chapter should be more playful... see if you can find the quotes, and please suggest some songs for the Glee Club to have a jam session to!

Remember, love, not flames!

1 St. Felicity is the patroness of young mothers. Felicity was a Roman slave who converted to Christianity. She was martyred in the Colosseum after giving birth to a baby girl.

2 That would be the many statues in Catholic churches (we use them like photos- to help us remember who we're praying to and who we're aiming to be like) and the selling of indulgences-a corrupt practice of the Medieval period which is not a practice that continues today.

3 This is called Eucharistic Adoration. Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in Holy Communion (the bread and the wine). Often we won't eat some of the bread, and pray before it instead (this is Adoration). The big gold thing Quinn is talking about is the monstrance, which is what the Eucharist is placed in when people pray before it.

4 There are stories of Christians receiving a type of Divine Intervention where they know details about people that they couldn't possibly know otherwise. This is generally referred to as the gift of knowledge. This isn't exclusively Catholic.

5 This is a real book, it's called _Brave Little Bear, _written by an Australian woman reflecting on her first pregnancy at age 16... google it, it's amazing.

6 Catholics absolutely, one hundred and ten percent, do NOT worship Mary! We see her as a vehicle to help us get closer to Jesus, and we HONOUR her as the Mother of God. We attempt to model her faith, and we acknowledge that she has the strongest intercessory power in heaven (we ask her to pray with us and for us, believing that as Jesus's mother, she has a certain...sway over Him for want of a better term), kind of like at the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11)


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys… I really want to thank each and every one of your for all your support, particularly of the last chapter. I did have one review deciding not to read anymore, which is disappointing, but that's how it goes. I was aware I'd probably lose readers, but I say their loss! I was especially excited to see the support of my non-Catholic brothers and sisters! A very, very special thanks to Kimmy77 for her very kind words! To clarify, that last chapter was really to give Quinn some closure from her nasty parents, the Catholic thing probably won't have a huge bearing on the rest of the story, but what they're going to do with Drizzle probably will (several bunnies are bouncing around at the moment).

This chapter was so hard to write, it underwent several complete revisions, so I hope you enjoy!

Look out for quotes (Last chapter was "I'm already pregnant, what other shenanigans can I get into?" From Juno and "Don't say it" "eh, it was too easy anyway" from the second episode of Grey's Anatomy). I also mention a lifestyle choice of one of the Glee cast members, see if you can pick it!

***

The rest of the weekend was thankfully uneventful. Puck had texted Rachel saying he wouldn't be able to drive her or Quinn to school Monday. She rushed up to him when she arrived at school. He looked exhausted.

"It was bad. She cried, screamed about how she raised me better than that, that I'd let her down. I don't think she was really surprised though."He said heavily. Rachel handed him her travel mug of coffee.

"You need it more than I do. Sweetheart, I hope everything is ok at home. I'm sure I can convince my parents to let you stay for a few days if you need to. My dads love adopting strays."Rachel said. Puck took a mouthful of coffee and pulled her into a tight one armed hug.

"Thanks baby. It isn't so bad. Mom's satisfied that I wanted to take responsibility from the start. She says I'm a better man than my dad."He kissed the top of her head and walked her to class.

***

Rachel was walking to Glee when she saw Artie giving Tina a ride.

"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"Rachel asked. Tina nodded fervently, and Artie blushed. Rachel squealed.

"I am so happy for both of you! That is so amazing!"They walked in and saw Mr Schue, who looked like he was on cloud nine.

"Wemma watch?" Rachel whispered. Kurt shrugged.

"Not that I know of. But I'll dig around and tweet any goss." Rachel nodded.

"Guys, I have amazing news. The faculty director of Vocal Adrenaline wants to have a scrimmage with us. We host them Friday."Mr Schue announced. Most of the group cheered. Rachel jumped up.

"Mr Schuester! Are you sure we're going to be ready for Friday? I mean, we need a new number. Something amazing, and shocking. Something raw and emotionally charged. Something..."Mr. Schue handed out sheet music.

"Something like this?"He asked.

"Something exactly like this. Original lyrics I assume?"Rachel responded. Mr Schue nodded.

"This part was practically written for Rachel. I hope nobody objects at her taking the female lead?"Nobody did.

"I don't get it. Rachel, you never ever turn down a chance to compete. Why aren't you like, bouncing off the walls?" Mercedes asked. Rachel drew in a breath.

" The lead singer of Vocal Adrenaline is my ex boyfriend. Our relationship wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows. Quite the opposite actually. For the sake of my sanity we have got to win this." Rachel said.

They warmed up. They ran through all the vocals, concentrating on the harmonies. As they were leaving, Kurt called out;

"Girls night! My place, Friday night! Facials, movies and junk food. You better be there! Kisses!" The girls all grinned. Puck elbowed Finn viciously.

"Guys night at my place Friday. Call of Duty, Poker and…wrestling. It'll totally be better than the girls night." Finn said, shrugging.

"Oh you wish. Our night will totally be more awesome than yours!" Santana quipped.

"Care to put a wager on that?" Mike, the perpetual gambler, asked. Rachel nodded.

"Name the stakes." She said. The boys conferred.

"Eternal awesomeness." Matt offered. The girls considered.

"Done. And the winners get to compose a number of their choice, to be performed at Regionals. That ok Mr. Schue?" Mercedes added. Mr Schuester shrugged.

"I guess so. Usual rules apply for number choice though."He cautioned.

"Oh, it is on like fucking Donkey Kong." Puck declared. Handshakes were exchanged.

***

Until Friday, Rachel was a woman possessed. She adopted a diet free of animal products; and she lived and breathed the number. Quinn was ready to hide Rachel's iPod and Puck kind of wanted the less psycho version of his girlfriend back.

***

Rachel was up at five on Friday morning. She worked out and chose her outfit with care. She had to look cute, but not too put together. She had too look gorgeous, but not like she was out to impress anyone. She left a note for Quinn, and drove herself to school where she danced barefoot until she had to go to class, where her notes turned into the song lyrics she would be singing that afternoon.

***

Just before her free period, (which, thankfully was in final hour), Rachel received a 911 text from Kurt and Mercedes. Fearing the worst, Rachel swung by her locker for her slushie kit and bolted to the choir room (designated meeting place for emergencies). She entered to see the other Glee kids and costumes spread out across the room.

" This is our contribution to the number. We've been working on them all week. We just need you to try them on to make any last minute alterations." Mercedes said.

" We can't be looking like someone's poor cousins when the soul suckers arrive." Kurt added. Rachel walked over to the costume with the note saying "Lady Rara" attached to it. She touched the white dress and black stockings lovingly. She smiled at Kurt and Mercedes.

"This is amazing. Thank you." She said.

"We may not be pb and j, but this guy did a real number on you, and if you mess with one of mine, I will cut you. We'll cut 'em by whooping their asses." Mercedes said.

"I'll hang his family jewels from my rear view window if he tries anything. We may fight like cats and dogs, But you'll keep, Berry. You better be at mine tonight." Kurt added.

***

Refreshments had been laid out. Capes stolen from last year's production of _Antony and Cleopatra _covered their costumes. Puck was on the guitar; Artie on bass and Finn was drumming, and the Glee club were enjoying an all out jam session.

"Rachel, seriously, CHILL OUT! You're stretched. You have arm and leg warmers on. Jamming is going to keep your voice warm. You look hot, and if you don't calm the eff down, you are going to get up there and choke. Do you want that? I didn't think so. Now come here and let me fix your lip gloss." Santana ordered. Rachel obediently let Santana fix her make up, and sat down and sang along with _Good Riddance_. She danced like a spaz when they sang _Hey Ya _by Outkast, and Rachel nearly died of irony when Vocal Adrenaline walked in halfway through their re-enactment of Lily Allen's _Not Fair _video.

"Guys, this is Ingrid Moore, faculty advisor and vocal coach to Carmel High's Glee club, and Nathan Gaddis, their captain." Everyone from New Directions noticed Rachel jut her chin out when Vocal Adrenaline's captain was introduced.

"My name is Rachel Berry, I'm captain of New Directions. I'm sure the amenities were pointed out to you, and as the visiting team, we invite you to perform first." Rachel said, her professional face on.

"I think it appropriate that our captains shake hands before we take the stage." Ingrid said icily.

"Of course." Rachel replied equally icily. She shook Nathan's hand and sat down with her team.

"I was young and stupid, ok?" She hissed. Ingrid counted Vocal Adrenaline in. Unsurprisingly, their rendition of _Candyman _was pitch perfect, and choreographed perfectly, but Rachel noticed with perverse joy that they lacked any emotional depth. She and the rest of New Directions filed backstage. They pulled off the capes.

"Rachel, you better wipe the floor with that asshole." Quinn whispered. Rachel nodded. She rolled her neck twice, and walked onstage. She slipped into her character like an old sweater, and began to sing;

_Mama who bore me  
Mama who gave me  
No way to handle things  
Who made me so bad_

_Mama, the weeping  
Mama, the angels  
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem_

She felt the beats of the drum, and stood as the girls walked on stage. She ran to grab her mike.

_Mama who bore me  
Mama who gave me  
Mama the angels  
Who made me so sad_

_Mama who bore me  
Mama who gave me  
No way to handle things  
Who made me so sad_'

Rachel ran back onstage, and began the harmony with Tina, as they spread out across the stage.

_Mama, the weeping  
Mama, the angels  
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem_

_Some pray that, one day, Christ will come a-callin  
They light a candle, and hope that it glows  
And some just lie there, crying for him to come and find them  
But when he comes, they don't know how to go_

The girls gave a mock salute to the audience and walked off, as the boys walked on with chairs.

Finn began to sing (he missed the irony of playing Moritz, but the rest of the group certainly didn't).

_God, I dreamed there was an angel  
Who could hear me through the wall  
As I cried out, like, in Latin, This is so not life at all  
Help me out, out of this nightmare.  
Then I heard her silver call  
She said, Just give it time, kid. I come to one and all.  
_

Puck took over, singing as Melchior

_She said; Give me that hand, please, and the itch you can't control.  
Let me teach you how to handle all the sadness in your soul.  
Oh, we'll work that silver magic,  
Then we__'ll__ aim it all the wall.  
She said, Love may make you blind, kid, but I wouldn__'t__ mind at all._

The boys all joined in for the chorus, with Kurt taking the additional lines in the chorus_  
It__'__s the bitch of living_

_**The bitch, just the bitch**_ Kurt added_  
With nothing but your hand  
__**Just the bitch, yeah**__  
Just the bitch of living  
As someone you can't stand_

Artie rolled forward to sing his solo

_  
See, each night its, like, fantastic  
Tossing, turning without rest  
Cause my days at the piano  
With my teacher and her breasts  
And the musics, like, the one thing  
I cant even get at all  
And those breasts!  
I mean, God, please, just let those apples fall  
_

The boys started to dance as they sang again

_It__s the bitch of living  
__**The bitch!**__  
With nothing going on, nothing going on  
Just the bitch of living  
Asking: What went wrong?  
Do they think we want this?  
Oh, who knows!_

The girls walked on from the opposite side that they'd exited, clumped as a group

_Yeah, you're fucked all right; and all for spite  
You can kiss your sorry ass goodbye  
Totally fucked; will they mess you up?  
Well you know they're gonna try  
_The girls grabbed the chairs the boys had all been sitting on and spread them across the stage. Half the group climbed onto the chairs and faced their audience dead on and stood completed as they sang.

_  
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah  
Blah blah blah blah blah  
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah  
Blah blah blah blah blah  
_

As the music became more frantic, they began to move frantically. Brittany was performing cheerleading moves, Tina was headbanging. Rachel began to turn rapidly on the ball of her foot as they sang;

_Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah  
Blah blah blah blah blah  
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah  
Blah blah blah blah blah_

They all stopped to sing the final line, flipping the audience the bird.

_Totally fucked! _

They had smashed it harder than they'd ever smashed anything. Vocal Adrenaline was cheering in a way that was more than half hearted. Rachel was thrilled. She was convinced it was their strongest ever performance.

***

They were out of costume and mingling. Rachel was about to take her first bite of animal by-product when Ingrid approached her.

"Rachel, tell me about your training." She demanded.

"I trained exclusively in opera and Broadway standards from the age of five. I added contemporary music to my repertoire when I was eleven." Rachel replied.

"What about dance?"

"Classical ballet, tap and jazz from when I was three years old. I picked up ballroom when I was eight."

"First contemporary song you learnt?"

"I Love Rock'n'Roll, by Joan Jett and the Runaways"

"Favourite Opera"

"Don Giovanni"

"Dream role in musical theatre?"

"Currently, Hermione in _A Very Potter Musical._ Look, what is this about? As I'm sure you can understand, I haven't consumed dairy in four days, and that chocolate cupcake is calling my name." Rachel said. Rachel walked over to the refreshment table and was intercepted by Brittany.

"Is that Ingrid lady your mom?" She asked. Rachel licked the icing off her fingers.

"Britt, honey, you know I have two dads. I don't have a mom." Rachel explained gently.

"Then why do you look like, exactly the same?" Brittany asked. She stole a bite of Rachel's cupcake and flounced away.

"Looking good Ray-Ray!" Rachel rolled her eyes and turned around.

"I'll remind you again Nathan, I despise that nickname. My name is Rachel." Rachel snapped firmly. She cringed when Nathan planted a kiss on her cheek, and barely restrained the urge to wipe it off.

"What are you doing Ray?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, still training intensively. I have my teacher's exam in tap soon. I keep myself busy." Rachel said. Nathan laughed.

"No, I mean, what are you doing here? You're slaving away with a cripple, a pregnant girl who is obviously some kind of sexual deviant, and a guy with an honest to God Mohawk. This glee club has every possible tacky cliché I can think of. They're trash. You need to get out before they infect you. I'm sure I can convince Director Moore to fit you in, and we could probably pick up where we left off." He said. Rachel's blood boiled.

"That cripple? He's the most talented musician I've ever had the pleasure to hear play. The pregnant deviant? We live together. She's oh, kind of my best friend. The guy with the honest to God Mohawk? He would be my boyfriend. And guess what, if they're trash, I'm more than happy to be a trashy cliché with them, than be around you assholes. I'd date a woman, hell, I'd date a pig before I considered taking you back." Rachel felt the weight of Puck's arm on her shoulder. He stuck his other hand out.

"Noah Puckerman." Nathan took his hand.

"Nathan Gaddis." He responded. He dropped Puck's hand like a hot coal.

"Just so you know, I banged your girlfriend. Popped her…berry, if you catch my meaning." He bragged. Rachel saw Puck's face harden.

"Ah, I'm standing right here. Nathan, stop bragging about how I was naïve enough to sleep with you. You lasted less than two minutes and from what I remember…" Rachel trailed off, and made a big show of moving a hair off her face with her pinky.

"I can't believe your pathetic attempt at starnapping me would work. I can't even believe that you thought I'd fall into your arms like some mindless bimbo!" Rachel said harshly.

"Is crackerboy here giving you trouble?" Mercedes asked menacingly. Puck glared at Nathan.

"Let me make myself clear. You even consider making Rachel's like difficult, my face will haunt your fucking nightmares after I am through with you. You will spend your days looking over your shoulder, making sure I'm not there. I know exactly what you did to her, and you gotta have serious mommy issues to even try it. If you know what is good for that pretty little face of yours, you will stay the fuck away from her. You so much as breathe the wrong way near her; I will sell your organs for cash on the black market. Can't wait to kick your asses at Regionals." Puck growled threateningly.

"So now, you go play nice. Eat a cupcake. Put on that big ol' cheesy grin of yours. Just know you're on our turf. There's about a million places we could hide you so you never get found." Mercedes said. Nathan actually backed away. Rachel looked at Mercedes.

"You're family now girl. I get to go mama bear on anybody who messes with my family." Mercedes said simply. She walked over to Kurt. Rachel went up on her toes and kissed Puck as deeply as she dared.

"Thank you. I'm sorry he was such a cad." She said. Puck pulled her into a hug that lifted her feet from the ground.

"That's why I'm around babe. Gotta keep the douches at bay." Vocal Adrenaline abruptly left.

"Seriously Rachel, I don't know what you saw in him. He smells like soup." Mike said.

***

And Puck the badass returns…thoughts? What about Vocal Adrenaline?

Watch this YouTube clip; http:// www. youtube. com/ watch?v= L_Bl9NIBvY8 it's the Original Broadway Cast's performance at the Tony Awards, my performance is based on this, but I used the original lyrics, not the dumb changes they had to make. I'm super excited, cause I'm going to see Sydney Theatre Company's production of Spring Awakening on Wednesday! Thank you Cate Blanchette for bringing it to Sydney!

A note on Mercedes: I kinda see her as a mama bear…once you're in with her, you're in 100 percent. She sees Glee as an extension of her family- she can tease and argue with the members, but if anyone from the outside messes with them, she'll take them down… I hope that isn't too OOC…cause writing crazy bitch Mercedes was kinda really fun.

Reviews are love...I've broken the 50 mark, but to break the 100 mark would be even cooler!


	11. Chapter 11

Ok, so, our quote was  
"You need it more than I do" from the new Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie... there are a few in this chapter...also, text messages are underlined in this chapter

And the lifestyle fact is that Rachel went vegan until the performance, and Lea Michele is a vegan in real life (I got all excited about hearing about her dieting tips, until I realised what they were...what can you eat? Nothing that makes me happy, that's for sure!)

Don't own!!

***

Rachel and Quinn were in Rachel's room, packing for the girls night. Rachel's dad stuck his head through the door.

"Rachel, Quinn, your father and I are going out to dinner."

"No problem dad. Quinn and I are staying at a friend's house tonight anyway, so we'll see you tomorrow."Rachel replied. Quinn pulled a hidden set of pyjamas out of Rachel's drawer. She added the matching robe. Rachel checked the battery on her camera.

"Ok, memory card is empty and the battery is full. I think we need to grab some movies."Rachel said.

"Got that covered."Quinn replied, pointing to the enviro bag that held Rachel's _Grey's Anatomy_ DVDs, as well as the boxed set of _Will and Grace_, _BBC Pride and Prejudice, 10 Things I Hate About You, Mean Girls _and a Molly Ringwald double pack (_The Breakfast Club_ and _Pretty in Pink_). Quinn had also thrown together a beauty bag.

"Ok, let's jet. We'll stop for snacks on the way."Rachel said. She quickly sent a text to the Glee boys.

"Just give up now. Our night is going to leave yours for dead."

They headed out to the car. Rachel backed out of the driveway as Quinn cranked _Man I Feel Like a Woman_.

***

Rachel pushed a shopping cart around the grocery store.

"I sincerely hope you're not nesting Quinn, because I refuse to allow you to feed our kid this crap!"Rachel said firmly.

"Oh come on Rach! There are strawberries there, and chocolate has milk in it! Its one night! Live a little." Quinn arrived at the checkout and smiled sweetly at the cashier who was staring pointedly at her stomach. Rachel paid and grabbed the bags. She burst out laughing. Mike was obviously trying to convince someone to buy him beer by looking pitiful, and he was also obviously failing miserably. Rachel tooted her horn as she drove past.

"Yeah, your night is rad" Quinn texted Mike.

***

Rachel and Quinn walked up to Kurt's front door. With all their stuff, the doorbell was a struggle, but they managed. Kurt swung the door open,

"Ladies, come in, come in! We have free reign tonight, my dad is fishing for the weekend!"He said grandly. Rachel added their contribution to the snacks collection. She and Quinn were the last to arrive.

"The boys look like they're in for a dull night. Mike put epic in front of fail at getting people to buy him beer."Quinn commented. Rachel shot a snap of the uneaten junk food. Kurt looked up from his perusal of all the beauty supplies.

"Brittany made sure we won't have the same problem. She swiped a bottle of tequila and margarita mix from her sister's alcohol stash."Kurt said. Brittany nodded proudly.

"So, I'm thinking right now we need chocolate covered strawberries and pampering. Rachel brought her camera, so we can prove our night is way better than the boys night."Santana said.

***

The chocolate had been melted. Rachel and Santana were dipping the strawberries into the chocolate and leaving them to dry. Quinn, Tina and Brittany were creating a tower of nachos, and Mercedes was compiling a soundtrack of the night from all their iPods.

"Ok, girls, give me Betty Crocker. Now cheeky."Kurt directed from behind the camera. Rachel and Santana posed playfully.

"Now give me one to drive the boys wild."Kurt demanded. Rachel and Santana spied the spatula at the same time. Santana held it up and she and Rachel licked the opposite sides for the camera. Kurt cackled,

"Brilliant ladies, just brilliant."

***

They had eaten, and the girls were changing into their pyjamas. Santana and Brittany were both in Peter Alexander nighties, Mercedes wore a Betsey Johnson camisole and pants set, Tina wore a cami and shorts set that looked like Wonder Woman's outfit, Quinn was in a cute maternity set that Rachel had picked for her, and Rachel's vintage lace set she'd found thrift shopping in New York had surprised even more than Kurt's low key boxers and singlet.

"Ok, I have avocado and oatmeal cleansing mask in the refrigerator that will not last forever!"Kurt ordered. He sat the girls down, pinned their hair off their faces, and went to work.

"Ok, now we leave them for half an hour."Kurt said, and he put _Mean Girls _on.

Mercedes was dying Tina's hair blue again, Santana was painting Quinn's toenails and Rachel was curling Brittany's hair with a straightening iron. Kurt brought down the margaritas.

"How about a little sneaky peeky to get the party going?"He asked. He poured one for everybody save Quinn, whom he handed a pink drink with an umbrella.

"Virgin Sex on the Beach. It's delicious."He whispered to her. They toasted to the supreme awesomeness of their night and went back to the movie. One by one, Kurt removed the face masks and applied a soothing lotion. The movie ended, and Mercedes cranked the music as they did one another's makeup.

"I'll Photoshop these so we have before and after shots."Rachel said. They did look incredibly cute. Rachel was rocking a Jewish Marilyn Monroe look, with red lipstick and winged liquid eyeliner. Brittany had shimmery blue eyeshadow smudged around her eyes, and Santana was bronzed up. Some shimmery pastels and a few diamantes made Mercedes's eyes pop, and Quinn's cheekbones had been played up so she looked like a porcelain doll. Tina, as usual, had gone all out, and she looked like a harajuku girl. Kurt was taking photos as fast as the camera allowed when Rachel's phone buzzed.

"I think the boys are bored. I just got a text asking what we're doing from Noah."Rachel said. She shot a reply off and passed her phone around the room.

"Having a pillow fight in our underwear with I Kissed a Girl playing in the background. Duh. Who knows what could happen next...You aren't bored are you?"

"Oh, that was SO the right response Rach!"Santana crowed.

"Oh my gosh, we should totally make up a dance, like we used to when we were like ten! We can make it like, totally sexy and stuff, and then we can like, mess with their heads with it."Brittany said.

"I have the track!"Mercedes said, flicking through iTunes.

***

Rachel called Puck.

"Baby, get access to Skype. We have something we need to show you."She hung up. Kurt accepted the Skype call from Artie. He hit play. The opening chords of _Tik Tok_ began to play. They began to dance. Puck felt his jaw hit the ground when he saw Rachel dancing in barely there pyjamas. They looked like something Betty Page would wear. He wanted to cover the eyes of every single guy in the room, and he could tell he wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"Face it, your night is never going to compare!"Tina said. Giggles echoed through the speakers and the call was cut off.

"That was low. We gotta prank em."Puck said resolutely. The boys nodded seriously.

"It's time for operation: welcome to your nightmare."Artie declared.

***

"Oh, Dr. McDreamy, you can shave my head and cut into my brain any day."Mercedes said. The group sighed in appreciation. Rachel's phone rang. It was no number. She answered it on loudspeaker.

"Hi, I'm Chucky, wanna play?" Rachel dropped the phone like a hot coal. Santana's phone went off.

"When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth." Brittany's phone rang

"1 - 2 - Freddy's coming for you, 3 - 4 - Better lock your door, 5 - 6 - Grab your crucifix, 7 - 8 - Better stay up late, 9 - 10 - Never sleep again..." the electricity began to flicker. Each phone had a horror movie one liner delivered to it in the same gravelly voice.

"You will die in seven days."

"Be afraid... Be very afraid."

"I see dead people." A loud banging echoed around the house. The power cut out. Kurt's phone rang.

"I'm in the house!"A frenzied pounding began on the front door. They all screamed.

"Do we get that? This never ends well in horror movies!"Rachel whimpered.

"We're not in a horror movie. We live in Lima! What's the worst that could happen?"Tina whispered. They all clung to each other, using their phones as light; they made their way to the front door. Kurt hesitantly unlocked it. A hand reached out into the darkness. They screamed again...until they realised it was the hand of a life size skeleton decoration for Halloween. At it's feet was a note.

"_Girls- 1, boys-1000000000000000000... SUCK IT!"_ The sound of a car screeching down the road was heard.

"We can't let them win."Rachel declared.

"Ok, first we turn your power back on at the fuse, Kurt. Then its war."Tina declared. She flipped her phone open.

"We owe you... And we ALWAYS pay our debts." She sent to the boys.

"Yeah, like we're really afraid of a bunch of girls."Mike texted back. Tina smirked.

"You should be." She replied.

***

"Revenge is a dish best served cold. We need margaritas!"Santana declared.

"Ok, we have got to do better than itching powder in their underwear. What do we know?"Mercedes asked. An evil grin spread across Quinn's face.

"I know I still have keys to Finn's house." she said.

"Ok, now we're getting somewhere. Tina, anything online?"Kurt asked. Tina shrugged.

"Nothing as epic as the prank the pulled on us."

"I wish we could like, steal their cars. That would be way funny."Brittany mused. Rachel's eyes lit up.

"Brittany, you're a genius!"She said.

"Rachel, I'm not wearing jeans."Brittany replied.

"No, no. We attack their cars! We need to get to Walmart before it closes."

***

It was three am when the girls ventured forth with their plan. Quinn (the most sober one, and therefore the only one Kurt trusted with his baby), parked Kurt's Navigator a few houses down from Finn's house. Rachel took a picture of Quinn and Tina sneaking through Finn's back fence. Santana pulled a wire coathanger out of her bag and popped the lock on Matt's car. They stepped back, waiting for the alarm that didn't go off.

"What? My brother taught me when I locked my keys in my car." She shrugged. They began to blow up balloons and filled his car up with them. They shut the door, and moved to Mike's car, which was far too new to pop the lock on. Instead, they pulled out several rolls of cling wrap and began to wrap his car up. Finn's car got attacked with liquid chalk, which has the added advantage of looking like spray paint. Tina and Quinn emerged from the house, carrying mountains of clothes.

"AIR!"Quinn groaned.

"Seriously, girls, it smells SO bad down there!" Tina said.

"We grabbed everything we could."Quinn added. Rachel approached Puck's car.

"Oh, baby, you didn't! Girls, all our Christmases have come at once!"Rachel said, pointing to the keys sitting in the ignition.

"Ok, so who can drive boy?"Kurt asked. Rachel raised her hand.

"Girls, jump in the tray. I'll move really slowly, and throw the clothes as we go as a trail for them to follow."Rachel said. She got in, and moved the gear into neutral. She took the handbrake off and let the car slide down the hill slightly before she started the engine. She moved the car two streets away. She reached into her handbag. She stuck three packets of gold stars all over the steering wheel, and then pulled out a few tubes of glitter. She carefully tipped them into the air vents of the truck, and slipped a CD into the CD player, turning the volume up to maximum. She shut the car off. Kurt had written a note on the rear wind shield.

"_Boys-1000000000000000000, girls, INFINITY! Face it, we're simply more awesome than you!_" they took several photos of the damage and drove back to Kurt's house.

***

Rachel loaded all the images onto Kurt's laptop. She climbed into the bed she and Quinn were sharing and crashed.

***

"Boys, I cooked breakfast! Get up here while it's hot!"Mrs. Hudson called. Finn and Mike blearily lifted Artie and carried him to his wheelchair, which was sitting up above the five steps that led to Finn's den.

"Oh, Mrs H, you're the bomb!"Puck groaned. The table was at breaking point, with every hot food you could imagine. The boys dug in.

"We should go laugh at the girls after this. I bet they haven't worked out how to turn the power back on."Mike commented. A laugh echoed around the table.

"So much for paying their debts."Matt added.

"We'll bring your bag up Artie. Spare room is third door on the left for you to change. Finn said. The other boys trudged down to the den. They tossed Artie's backpack up to him and began to dig around for their clothes.

"Is it just me, or are all our clothes gone?"Puck asked. Finn came thundering down the hallway.

"Guys, I just looked out onto the street. It's bad." He wheezed. The boys powered to the front door.

Mike's jaw dropped. Matt looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Where the FUCK is my car?"Puck growled. He saw a note on the pavement.

"Follow the breadcrumbs" it said, a sock on the pavement and an arrow pointing out the direction they had to walk. The boys walked the streets in their boxers, collecting their clothes as they went.

"Oh my God my baby! It's safe!"Puck sighed in relief. Mike pointed to the sign on the back of Puck's car.

"I think they're right. They kinda owned us."He said. Puck jumped and pulled his Chucks out of the tree.

"Come on. We're going to see them right now."

***

They were dressed. Mike's car had been unwrapped, and all the balloons in Matt's car had been popped and they had hosed Finn's car down, relieved to see that the graffiti wasn't permanent.

"Ok, gents, let's go wake the ladies." He said. He lifted Artie into the car. He turned the key in the ignition. _I Feel Pretty _from West Side Story began to blast from his speakers.

"What the FUCK!"He shouted. He hit eject. He pulled several stars from his hands.

"Rachel." He said darkly. He pulled out behind Matt.

"Do you mind if I turn the air on?"Artie asked. Puck shook his head. Artie flipped the switch, and both boys were covered in pink and purple glitter. Artie wiped his glasses.

"If Rachel orchestrated the whole prank, you need to face facts and realise you're dating an evil genius. Like a Bond villain evil genius."Artie said.

***

The boys pulled up at Kurt's.

"Ok, we need a plan."Finn stated. They could hear chatter from over the fence.

"Plan goes like this. We open the gate and find the girls. Simple. We can't fuck it up."Puck said. He jumped Kurt's fence and unlatched it. The boys walked through to see the girls on Kurt's patio eating breakfast. Rachel jumped up.

"These are not the girls you're looking for."She said in her best Obi-Wan impersonation, complete with hand gestures.

"You're exactly the...wait, Rach, you speak Star Wars?"Puck asked. Rachel tied her robe and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Noah, my parents are gay, not mentally subpar. I watch more than just _Funny Girl_" She noticed glitter in his Mohawk. The boys were wearing equally pissed off looks. The girls burst into giggles.

"Oh, you so got owned!"Tina gasped through her amusement. A new round of laughter burst out.

"Face it boys. We are just pure, unadulterated and eternal awesome."Rachel said.

"You secretly find us more attractive because we can whoop your dumb butts."Mercedes added.

"And if you don't admit it, you'll be having lots more boys nights. We'll be shutting up shop til you do."Santana said.

"Meaning?"Finn asked?

"Meaning you will find each and everyone one of us physically, emotionally and in all other ways unavailable to you. We'll be more than happy to provide you with pictorial reference of what we get up to when you're not around." Rachel flipped open Kurt's laptop, revealing a timer photo of them standing boobs to back with one leg stuck out toward the camera.

"And it only gets more suggestive from there. We can be very creative."Santana said. The boys exchanged looks. They took five steps back and had a heated whispered conversation. They came back.

"Fine. You win. You're totally more awesome than us. We don't know how we survive your presence and we can't wait to learn the new number for Regionals." they said in unison.

"That was all we ever wanted to hear."Quinn said serenely, hand on her bulging stomach. She let Finn hug her. Rachel smiled at Puck.

"I like the glitter babe. It's totally badass. And it's kinda sexy."She said.

"Of course it is. I'm a stud. I could make those scraps of lace you're wearing look like armour."Rachel rolled her eyes.

"You talk too much."She said. She pulled his head down and kissed him. The boys pulled up extra seats and sat at Kurt's outdoor setting.

"If we joined forces for good, and not evil, could you imagine the havoc we could wreak?"Artie said dreamily.

"Oh, Vocal Adrenaline is in for a whole bunch of whoop-ass on and off stage at Regionals."Matt said. Mike provided the Z click.

"Oh, I can't wait until you see what we have planned for our number gentlemen. It's going to be just beautiful."

"In fact, I'm sure we could be ready to teach it by Monday. Tina's taking lead vocal."Rachel added.

"We already have the colour scheme under control. I'm seeing black and mauve. We'll do the whole wear what you got in the right colours. You'll love it."Mercedes said.

"What's mauve?"Finn asked.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."Kurt said mournfully.

***

There we go...next chapter we have the new number...and maybe some Rachel/ Puck alone time! I also have major writers block with it...so I'm gonna hit the gym and hopefully get some ideas while I'm treadmilling! But if you have a suggestion please let me know!

I also wanna say...riding in the tray of a ute (or a truck, as Americans seemed determined to call them... Which I find weird, but meh)... Best fun ever! did it on my friend's farm :)

Also- happy Mardi Gras to anyone in Louisiana (I'm gonna get there one day!!!) happy pancake day to everyone else (its already Tuesday in Australia), so whoo I'm going to Spring Awakening tomorrow!

Reviews are lovely!!!!

We also have weblinks for all the pjs... enjoy!

Santana: http://www. Peteralexander .com .au/PA_navIWCatProductPage. process? Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=1232&pcount= &Product_Id=1591598&Level 1Click=Women&Level2Click=Nighties

Brittany http://www. peteralexander. Com .au/PA_navIWCatProductPage. process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id= 1232&pcount=&Product_Id=1617377 &Level1Click= Women&Level2Click=Nighties

Mercedes: http://www .thepajamastore. com/mm5 /merchant .mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code= TPS&Product_Code=BJ- BBC&Category_Code=PAJA

Tina: http://www. superherostuff. com/wonder-woman /clothing-and-appare l/wonder-woman-cami-and-panty-set. html?itemCd=campantwwset

Quinn: http://www. queenbee. com. au/Product-trimester-vintage -cami-and-short -maternity-set-summer-special-

Rachel: http :// vintageslips4u. com/ (we'll just pretend it has lining)

Kurt: eh, I'm sure you can use your imagination (I can't find something exactly right!)


	12. Chapter 12

OK... so I'm writing kinda blind here, so we'll see how I go... but I have the Spring Awakening soundtrack on repeat... hopefully that'll help.

Quotes from last chapter:

"How about a little sneaky peeky to get the party going?" From Grease...duh!

"We owe you. And we ALWAYS pay our debts." "Yeah, like we're really afraid of a bunch of girls." "You should be." Is from a personal fave of mine... Now and Then (when I was a kid, I killed the video because I watched it so much)

DON'T OWN!

***

The boys went to Glee on Monday, terrified of what they would be singing.

"It's gonna be some 'hug a tree, let dogs vote thing!' Tina's a total hippie." Mike whispered.

"Mr. Schuester, whilst we are more than to provide various types of textual support, but the girls won the sleepover wars fair and square. Mercedes has the sheet music for our victory number. We have Tina on lead vocals, and once you hear the song, I'm sure you'll agree with our chorographical decisions. We have three classically trained dancers, so we've based the movement on ballet, but we'd like to teach a few of the boys some basic but impressive looking lifts. Santana, Brittany and I can perform en pointe if we're pulling out all the tricks we have. Kurt and Mercedes have made some decisions regarding wardrobe which I'm sure they'll happily discuss. For now, I think we're best to get familiar with the music."Mercedes handed everyone the sheet music.

"Wow, this song is surprisingly not emasculating."Puck said.

"Oh, such big words coming from such a small brain" Santana shot back.

"Oh yeah, we're gonna have ballet classes for you guys to get the technique right. But its ok, I mean, my five year olds are awesome at it, so I'm sure you will be too!"Brittany added. The boys paled noticeably.

***

Rachel smiled as Puck opened the car door for her. She giggled at the glitter that remained in the car.

"You're gonna have to teach me those lift things. I already have to deal with those dancer boys grabbing you all over; no way am I watching my friends do the same thing."Puck said gruffly. Rachel put her hand on his shoulder. She turned his head toward her. She kissed him.

"No problem. I'd love for you to be the one lifting me."She said.

"Come over tonight and I'll start teaching you. I'd tell you to wear tights, but I'm almost certain you don't have any, so just wear something you can move in."

***

Rachel took a sip of water.

"You can't be afraid to drop me. The first thing I learnt when I learnt lifting was how to fall without getting hurt. I trust you completely, and I'm not made of glass. I can take a tumble and get up from it."She said. They'd been working on the first lift more complicated than a fireman's lift for forty minutes.

"You can do this. Remember, from your knees, not your back."She ran at him, and he caught her, one leg wrapped over his shoulder, the other around his back.

"You got it babe! I'm so proud!" Rachel said happily.

"Ah, how do I put you down?" He asked.

"Ok, I'm going to slide the leg around your back to the floor." Rachel said. She stood on one leg, and slipped the other foot down.

"You're a natural at this." Rachel said, pulling him toward the couch.

"I feel like we haven't had any time for just the two of us since we went out and sang karaoke. A girl can only go so long sharing her stud of a boyfriend." Her words had the exact effect she planned.

She felt the warm weight of her boyfriend and she moved her lips to his. She felt the tip of his tongue against her lower lip, and she opened her mouth to let him explore. He tasted like coke and fruit tingles, and she was addicted. She finally broke away, gasping for air. He smirked at her. She shot him an equally cheeky look. She slid herself onto his lap slowly, and settled one stocking clad leg on either side of his thighs. She moved her head towards his, and began to nip at his earlobe. She felt the fingers on her thighs tighten slightly, so she knew she was on the right track. She drew the lobe into her mouth and rubbed her teeth against it lightly, eliciting a moan she felt rumble in his chest. She pulled away slowly.

"I hope that's reward enough for being my knight in shining armour, more than once." Rachel said, suddenly shy. Noah lifted her chin so she could see his face.

"Babe, if you're gonna do that every time I threaten to beat someone up, I'll go into professional boxing. So you know, hottest thing anyone has done to me." He told her earnestly.

"Really?" He nodded. He kissed her softly, trying to prove that actions speak louder than words. He slowly kissed along her jaw line, and began to kiss and nip at her neck. The feeling of his wet kisses on her neck was enough to send Rachel's head rolling back and had her sighing throatily. He continued along her collarbone. He stopped at the strap of her leotard, locking eyes with her as he gently began to slide the strap down her shoulder. She didn't stop him. In fact, she pulled away slightly, pulling down the other side to reveal a simple black bra. He began to tease the newly exposed flesh, smiling into her skin as she moaned. He ran his tongue along the line of black fabric. He pulled away to look at her face.

"You, Rachel Berry, are beautiful. You're gorgeous and unless you stop me, I'm marking my territory on what I'm sure are the most awesome boobs in the world." He said huskily. She didn't. He moved achingly slowly, his tongue running a line down his skin. He nuzzled against the skin of her breasts, as if searching for his favourite spot. He finally chose a spot, and began to suck at her skin. Rachel groaned and pushed against him. He continued to pay particular attention to that spot on her skin. He pulled back to admire his handiwork, before pressing a kiss against it. Rachel sat up and admired the violet-red mark on her skin, and smiled at him broadly.

"You've been branded. You're officially, officially mine." He said. She kissed him firmly.

"And I couldn't be happier." Rachel said. She smiled as he helped her adjust her straps. She pulled her hair into a tidier bun.

"Come on lover boy. I'm pretty sure I heard my dad pull up, and if he comes down here and sees us all tangled up, he's going to be somewhat less than impressed."

***

"So, the five basic positions of ballet are..." Brittany trailed off. She demonstrated, and had the rest of the group copy her, before she, Santana, and Rachel went around to correct stances.

"Ok, you need to turn out more from your feet. Your knees should face the same direction as your feet." Rachel corrected Puck gently. She looked at the scowl on his face.

"It is commonplace for elite athletes to train in ballet to improve agility and strengthen their ankles in particular. And women love a man who can dance. So stop acting like I kicked your puppy." She admonished him.

"Ok, spotting practice!" Santana called, lighting a candle.

***

Somehow, they managed to get nearly a minute of the choreography learnt.

"Rachel, where do you dance?" Brittany asked.

"I'm at the Lima branch of the Ohio Academy of Performing Arts. I sing there and do acting classes occasionally as well. Where are you?"

"Britt and I just left Dance4Life. The owners changed last year, and it went down the drain. We were getting taught incorrect technique, it was just bad. Any way we can come check out your school?"

"Yeah, no problem. I do ballroom, tap, jazz and ballet on Thursday after Glee. You'll get a trial of each class free." Rachel said.

"Cool. Text us deets and we'll be there."

***

By Thursday the number was starting to take shape.

"This is starting to look and sound fantastic guys. This is definitely our opener for Regionals. So to pick our second number, I need you in groups of at least two." Rachel gravitated towards Puck. Tina and Mercedes was a pair, as were Kurt and Artie. Finn, Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Mike and Matt were a team.

"I don't mind how you choose your numbers... a duet, a group number, whatever. The theme is Broadway. Be ready Friday." Mr. Schue said. Puck looked at Rachel.

"You've already picked what we're doing, haven't you?" Rachel nodded.

"Is it something I can wear jeans in?" Rachel nodded again.

"You can even play your guitar. Come over and we'll work on it tonight."

***

Quinn and Rachel drove into school with Taylor Swift accompanying them. They stopped to pick up Brittany and Santana. It had finally gotten to the point where there were almost no stares when they entered the school talking.

***

Glee was tedious. Rachel was attempting to teach Matt, Mike and Puck how to do the lift from _Dirty Dancing_, but they were all way too distracted to pay attention. When Puck caught Rachel with her face an inch from the ground, lift practice was deemed way too big a health risk. Rachel, Santana and Brittany began to work on the pas de trois Mr. Schue asked them to work into the instrumental break of their victory song.

Mr. Schuester called the end to rehearsal. Rachel walked out of the room, very pointedly not saying a word to her boyfriend as she did so. She threw her dance bag into her car and climbed into the car.

"What did he do?" Quinn asked.

"Oh, so he was all, la, la, la, I don't want anyone but me touching you, teach me how to lift. So I started teaching him to lift the other night, and today in rehearsal he acts like a moron and nearly drops me on my face! I think that gives me grounds to walk out without a goodbye." Rachel huffed.

"Ok, new less angry subject. What are the dances like?" Santana asked.

"Well, we're doing a _Burn the Floor _inspired tango routine in ballroom, tap is just improvising at the moment because we're going to dance a capella. Ballet is to _Lacrymosa_ by Evanescence, it's really pretty, and jazz is a burlesque-y piece. It's a lot of fun." Rachel said. Santana nodded. Quinn pulled over and they climbed out of the car. Rachel introduced Brittany and Santana to her dance teacher and they began to warm up.

***

Rachel walked out of ballet, talking with Brittany and Santana, who were both set on joining the dance school. Rachel waved goodbye to them as they left with Brittany's sister. Rachel threw some clothes over her leotard. She walked outside to wait for her lift home, and saw a very familiar boy with a Mohawk standing out front. She checked her phone

"He insisted! He knows he was an ass, and he wants to apologise. He also stole the car keys. Just let him explain!" She scowled. Stupid Quinn and her stupid talking sense. Stupid boyfriend for his stupid car key stealing tendencies.

"Are you here to drop me on my face again?" Rachel asked coldly.

"Let me explain." He said. She motioned for him to continue. He pulled her to sit in the tray of the truck.

"I had just come from gym. Apparently your ex has some contact with the hockey guys. They started calling you a slut; and they had something to say about every single girl in Glee. They even had something to say about the baby. If Coach Tanaka hadn't come in that second Karovsky would have gotten even more brain damage than he already has there and then. So I couldn't concentrate in Glee, and neither could the other guys." Rachel noticed Puck push bruised knuckles into the pocket of his jeans.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"I took care of it. Nobody says anything about my girl, or my family." He said gruffly.

"I'm sorry I nearly dropped you. I'm sorry for bringing all this crap into your life." He added. Rachel took his bruised hands in hers. She dropped a kiss on both his palms.

"We've all got our junk, and my junk is you." She said simply. Puck pulled her into a bone crushing embrace. They said silently for a few minutes.

"Noah, can we go eat?" Rachel asked.

***

Dinner at the diner was quickly becoming a tradition for both of them. Rachel driving Puck's truck after dinner was another tradition that was developing quickly. She shut the engine off, and contorted herself over to his lap.

"Eager much?" Noah teased. Rachel responded by pulling her phone out and beginning to send a text. Noah grabbed the phone out of her hand and tossed it onto the driver's seat. He kissed her.

"You shouldn't tease. It's not nice" he disciplined her playfully, peppering kisses on her face. She grabbed his face and kissed him deeply. It didn't take long for her sweater to join her phone on the driver's seat. Rachel's fingers explored the buttons of Noah's shirt. Her lips connected to where the shoulder and neck meet. Before long, Noah had a purple mark that matched the one on her chest.

"All mine." She said firmly, before resting her head on his chest. His hand ran soothingly against her back.

"I don't wanna go back to the real world." Rachel said quietly. She kissed his chest lightly.

"I'm sick of having to fight to prove our relationship." she asked. She was embarrassed to feel a tear slide down her face. She attempted to wipe it away, but Noah was too fast for her.

"Hey, no tears please. They freak me out. Nobody has ever fought for me before Rachel. Not my dad, not the mom of my kid. The only one who has ever fought for me is you. You make me a better man Rachel. So fight with me baby, because I don't want this to end." Rachel smiled.

"My name is Rachel Berry. I don't give up, ever, on anything. Surely you've noticed that. Don't think I'm giving up on this." She replied.

***

It was Broadway day during Glee rehearsals. Tina and Mercedes opened the competition with _Class_ from Chicago, and the footballer/Cheerio group had done a passably good job with _Without Love_ from Hairspray. Rachel smiled when she took the stage with Puck, both sitting on the stools they used during _True Colours_. He began to play guitar. Rachel began to sing;

_Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.  
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.  
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.  
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you._

_Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.  
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.  
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.  
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.  
_  
Puck looked up at her, and began to sing  
**The world revives**

_Colors renew_ Rachel replied

_**But I know blue, only blue, lonely blue, within me blue.**_

Rachel began to sing again

_Without you.  
Without you, the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats.  
_  
**Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walk, the lungs breathe.**  
**The mind churns!**  
_The mind churns!  
_**The heart yearns!**  
_The heart yearns!_

Rachel felt tears begin to slide down her face as she harmonised.

_**The tears dry, without you.  
Life goes on, but I'm gone.  
Cause I die, without you.**_  
_Without you_

**Without you.**  
_**Without you.**_

Puck slung the guitar behind him and pulled Rachel into a hug. She laughed.

"I'm ok baby. I'm just one of those artsy creative types that cry at the drop of a hat." She said over the applause. They vacated the stage and watched Artie and Kurt's performance of _All For the Best._

Mr Schuester stood up at the end of the performances.

"I'll be honest guys. I had already picked the number for Regionals when I asked you to do this. I wanted to see what you guys could come up with." He said. Rachel looked at the confused stares in the room.

"The whole Wicked thing didn't work out the last time we tried it, but there is a number in there that I think reflects the relationship of two of our group members. If anyone has the pipes for Elphaba, its Rachel, and I think we all know that Quinn is her Glinda_"_ He said, handing Rachel and Quinn sheet music.

"Kurt, you're our most accomplished pianist. Would you accompany us?" Rachel asked. Kurt nodded, and sat down at the piano and began to play. Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand before beginning to sing

_I'm limited  
Just look at me - I'm limited  
And just look at you  
You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda  
So now it's up to you  
For both of us - now it's up to you..._

Quinn looked down at her sheet music nervously. She knew the song because she lived with Rachel who never turned the soundtrack off, but she had never done a duet with Rachel and was sweating blood because of it.

**I've heard it said  
That people come into our lives for a reason  
Bringing something we must learn  
And we are led  
To those who help us most to grow  
If we let them  
And we help them in return  
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true  
But I know I'm who I am today  
Because I knew you**

**Like a comet pulled from orbit  
As it passes a sun  
Like a stream that meets a boulder  
Halfway through the wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I knew you  
I have been changed for good **

Quinn smiled at Rachel and put a hand on her swollen belly as Rachel sang again; **  
**  
_It well may be  
That we will never meet again  
In this lifetime  
So let me say before we part  
So much of me  
Is made of what I learned from you  
You'll be with me  
Like a handprint on my heart  
And now whatever way our stories end  
I know you have re-written mine  
By being my friend..._

Rachel reached out and took Quinn's hands, both of them dropping their sheet music,

_Like a ship blown from its mooring  
By a wind off the sea  
Like a seed dropped by a skybird  
In a distant wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I knew you  
_  
**Because I knew you**

_**I have been changed for good  
**_

Rachel almost laughed at the irony of the next few lines

_And just to clear the air  
I ask forgiveness  
For the thing I've done you blame me for  
_  
**But then, I guess we know  
There's blame to share**

_**And none of it seems to matter anymore**_

**Like a comet pulled from orbit  
As it passes a sun  
Like a stream that meets a boulder**  
**Halfway through the wood**

_Like a ship blown from its mooring  
By a wind off the sea  
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood_

_**Who can say if I've been  
Changed for the better?  
I do believe I have been  
Changed for the better**_

**And because I knew you...**

_Because I knew you..._  
_**  
Because I knew you...  
I have been changed for good.**_

Quinn and Rachel were both sobbing, and as Kurt played the last notes of the song, Quinn pulled Rachel into a fierce embrace. They broke away from each other, and noticed Mr. Schue wiping a few tears away.

"If this song doesn't take Regionals, I don't know what will." He said simply.

***

Ok, so... The Word of Your Body, I Believe and The Guilty Ones were instrumental for a few scenes in here... I'm sure you can work out which ones!!!

I saw Spring Awakening yesterday... it was freaking amazing!!! I want to play Wendla now hehe

Also, a shout out to Bibz (the awesome author of _Use Somebody_) who is 17 today...happy birthday!!!

I've wanted Quinn and Rachel to sing _For Good _for ages, so I'm glad that my writer's block led to this.

I start uni on Monday, so updates are gonna slow dramatically... sorry guys, that's what happens when you do an accelerated double degree- you end up doing six subjects a semester that suck your life away!

Reviews are lovely...a massive thanks to everyone who reviews every single chapter... let's see if we can get to 100 reviews... the 100th reviewer might get a one shot out of me! (Not that I know how to check who that would be...can anyone tell me how?)


	13. Chapter 13

Ok, so the quote was "we've all got our junk, and my junk is you" from the song _My Junk_ from Spring Awakening… it is now my life's ambition to play Wendla on stage, so there you go… but yeah… I'm sure we can hit 100 reviews on this chapter…come on guys, give me my dream… this is the longest thing I've ever written

I'm sure we all know I don't own!

***

Puck and Rachel were bickering playfully about music when Rachel's phone rang. She brought it to her ear and squealed down the phone.

"Hello? Hey sex bomb! How ya doing you gorgeous thing? No way! That is amazing! No! NO! You're kidding…what a fucktard!" Puck nearly swerved off the road when he heard the word fucktard leave Rachel's mouth. He slowed down and forced his eyes onto the road.

"Oh my gosh, as if you even have to ask! Of course I will! I'll see you at eight! Love!!" Rachel looked over at Puck, who was concentrating very hard on the road.

"That was my friend Jimi. We go way back. Anyway, Jimi's band scored a major gig, but the lead singer walked out on them and they need someone to sing. You are looking at the temporary lead singer of Lipstick Affliction!" Rachel said excitedly. Puck swallowed any uneasiness he had.

"How'd you meet Jimmy?" he asked.

"New York. We were at the same summer camp. Jimi is just the bomb. So many of my best memories of NYC are with her. We got lost on the subway, danced in Times Square at midnight. We got in soooo much trouble, but it was so worth it. In fact, Jimi is the one who taught me how to kiss." Rachel said. Puck nearly swerved off the road again.

"I'm rehearsing with the band tonight. Thank goodness they're a covers band, I don't know how I'd be comfortable with a set of completely new songs by tomorrow."

***

Puck sent Quinn a text.

"Find out details abt this gig Rach is doin. Dnt trust dis Jimmy. Were guna surprise her." His phone buzzed (Rachel had deleted his fart ringtone, much to his displeasure).

"You better invite the whole crazy parade. I've heard a few stories; it won't take much for Rach to be in over her head."

***

Rachel gave her outfit a once over. The tight jeans and vest were hot, and she knew it. She tied her red trench up. Her phone buzzed.

"I'll be home late tonight! Don't wait up!" She called out.

***

Glee had assembled at Quinn and Rachel's. Kurt and Mercedes approved their outfits, and car logistics had been worked out. They headed out to the venue Quinn had found in Rachel's phone.

***

Soundcheck had gone well. Rachel was confident with all the songs, and she was ready to have a damn good time. The group had a quick prayer session, and a covert flask was passed around the circle. Rachel stopped to check her phone and saw a single word texted to her by Puck.

"Surprise"

***

Once the warmth of the lighting hit her face, Rachel shook off her nerves and stress and began to sing. Puck studied the band intensely. He was looking out for this Jimmy dude, but from what he could tell there were only chicks in the band.

Rachel had a massive smile on her face and began to belt out _You're Gonna Go Far Kid _by The Offspring like a pro. She sang her way through the opening songs with ease. She waited for the cheers to subside.

"So, tell me, guys, how are you doing?" Rachel asked breathlessly. She laughed as the crowd cheered.

"Well, I can tell you this, we are having such a great time rocking out for you guys. But for these next songs, we need a little help from the ladies in the audience. I need you to get on up and come dance with me!" Rachel waited for people to move forward. The band started to play. Rachel stood back to back with Jimi.

_Alright sir  
Sure I'll have another one it's early  
Three olives, shake it up, I like it dirty (dirty)  
Tequila for my friend it makes her flirty (flirty)  
Trust me_

I'm the instigator of underwear  
Showing up here and there uh oh (oh no)  
I'm always on a mission from the get-go (get-go)  
So what if it's only 1 o'clock in the afternoon  
It's never too soon to send out all the invitations to the last night (of your life)

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy!  
I can't help it I like to party, it's genetic!  
It's electrifying, wind me up and watch me go  
Where she stops, nobody knows  
A good excuse to be a bad influence on you and you

Alright ma'am (ma'am)  
Calm down I know your son said he was in my house (my house)  
He was the captain of the football team but I turned him out  
He wasn't the first and he won't be the last, to tone it down  
This happens all the time  


Rachel moved centre stage and started to dance

_  
I'm a story to tell the alibi  
They wanna go home I asked them (why)  
It's daylight (not night)  
They might need a break from all the real life (get a life)  
It gets to be too much sometimes  
It's never too late to send out all the invitations to the last night of (your life)_

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy!  
I can't help I like to party it's genetic!  
It's electrifying, wind me up and watch me go  
Where she stops, nobody knows  
A good excuse to be a bad influence on you and you

I'm off to see the doctor  
I hope she has a cure  
I hope she makes me better  
What does that even mean? (we don't know! )

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy!  
I can't help it I like to party it's genetic!  
It's electrifying, wind me up and watch me go  
Where she stops, nobody knows  
A good excuse to be a bad influence on you

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy!  
I can't help it I like to party it's genetic!  
It's electrifying, wind me up and watch me go  
Where she stops, nobody knows  
A good excuse to be a bad influence on you

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy!  
I can't help it, I like to party, it's genetic!  
It's electrifying, wind me up and watch me go  
Where she stops, nobody knows  
A good excuse to be a bad influence on you and you 

_I'm a good excuse (good excuse)  
To be a bad influence on you and you and you_

"Thank you so much ladies! Now, something you may not know about Lipstick Affliction is that we are all classically trained musicians. Jimi, our amazing guitarist, started out playing classical Spanish guitars. Shauna here plays the cello, or she did until she realised that your flip it on over on the side, and ch-ello, you got a bass! And Jamie on the drums, who, by the way, was born in international waters, how cool is that? You are legal right?" Rachel asked. Jamie nodded.

"Excellent. Coulda been real awkward, great show girls, Jamie, Immigration is here to see you. Yeah, so Jamie only ever played percussion, and I am an opera singer. So now you have our life stories, we're gonna play the first contemporary song we all learnt."

_I saw him dancin' there by the record machine  
I knew he must a been about seventeen  
The beat was goin' strong  
Playin' my favorite song  
An' I could tell it wouldn't be long  
Till he was with me, yeah me  
And I could tell it wouldn't be long  
Till he was with me, yeah me, singin'_

I love rock n' roll  
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby  
I love rock n' roll  
So come and take your time and dance with me

Ow!

He smiled so I got up and asked for his name  
That don't matter, he said,  
'Cause it's all the same

Said can I take you home where we can be alone

An' next we were movin' on  
He was with me, yeah me

Next we were movin' on  
He was with me, yeah me, singin'

I love rock n' roll  
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby  
I love rock n' roll  
So come an' take your time an' dance with me

Ow!

Said can I take you home where we can be alone

Next we were movin' on  
He was with me, yeah me,  
An we'll be movin' on  
An' singin' that same old song  
Yeah with me, singin'

I love rock n' roll  
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby  
I love rock n' roll  
So come an' take your time an' dance with me

I love rock n' roll  
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby  
I love rock n' roll  
So come an' take your time an' dance with

I love rock n' roll  
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby  
I love rock n' roll  
So come an' take your time an' dance with

I love rock n' roll  
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby  
I love rock n' roll  
So come an' take your time an' dance with

I love rock n' roll  
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby  
I love rock n' roll  
So come an' take your time an' dance with me

They rocked through _Elevation_ by U2, _Mr. Brightside _by the Killers and _Thunderstruck _by ACDC.

"Ok guys, this is our last song. We have loved rocking out for you guys, and we can't wait to do it again! Help me out with this one, I know you know it!" Rachel said.

_Hey Pretty Baby With The  
High Heels On  
You Give Me Fever  
Like I've Never, Ever Known  
You're Just A Product Of  
Loveliness  
I Like The Groove Of  
Your Walk,  
Your Talk, Your Dress  
I Feel Your Fever  
From Miles Around  
I'll Pick You Up In My Car  
And We'll Paint The Town  
Just Kiss Me Baby  
And Tell Me Twice  
That You're The One For Me_

The Way You Make Me Feel  
(The Way You Make Me Feel)  
You Really Turn Me On  
(You Really Turn Me On)  
You Knock Me Off Of My Feet  
(You Knock Me Off Of  
My Feet)  
My Lonely Days Are Gone  
(My Lonely Days Are Gone)

I Like The Feelin' You're  
Givin' Me  
Just Hold Me Baby And I'm  
In Ecstasy  
Oh I'll Be Workin' From Nine  
To Five  
To Buy You Things To Keep  
You By My Side  
I Never Felt So In Love Before  
Just Promise Baby, You'll  
Love Me Forevermore  
I Swear I'm Keepin' You  
Satisfied  
'Cause You're The One For Me  
The Way You Make Me Feel  
(The Way You Make Me Feel)  
You Really Turn Me On  
(You Really Turn Me On)  
You Knock Me Off Of My Feet  
Now Baby-Hee!  
(You Knock Me Off Of  
My Feet)  
My Lonely Days Are Gone-  
A-Acha-Acha  
(My Lonely Days Are Gone)  
Acha-Ooh!

Go On Girl!  
Go On! Hee! Hee! Aaow!  
Go On Girl!

I Never Felt So In Love Before  
Promise Baby, You'll Love Me  
Forevermore  
I Swear I'm Keepin' You  
Satisfied  
'Cause You're The One For  
Me . . .

The Way You Make Me Feel  
(The Way You Make Me Feel)  
You Really Turn Me On  
(You Really Turn Me On)  
You Knock Me Off Of My Feet  
Now Baby-Hee!  
(You Knock Me Off Of  
My Feet)  
My Lonely Days Are Gone  
(My Lonely Days Are Gone)

The Way You Make Me Feel  
(The Way You Make Me Feel)  
You Really Turn Me On  
(You Really Turn Me On)  
You Knock Me Off Of My Feet  
Now Baby-Hee!  
(You Knock Me Off Of  
My Feet)  
My Lonely Days Are Gone  
(My Lonely Days Are Gone)

Ain't Nobody's Business,  
Ain't Nobody's Business  
(The Way You Make Me Feel)  
Ain't Nobody's Business,  
Ain't Nobody's Business But  
Mine And My Baby  
(You Really Turn Me On)  
Hee Hee!  
(You Knock Me Off Of  
My Feet)  
Hee Hee! Ooh!  
(My Lonely Days Are Gone)

Give It To Me-Give Me  
Some Time  
(The Way You Make Me Feel)  
Come On Be My Girl-I Wanna  
Be With Mine  
(You Really Turn Me On)  
Ain't Nobody's Business-  
(You Knock Me Off Of  
My Feet)  
Ain't Nobody's Business But  
Mine And My Baby's  
Go On Girl! Aaow!  
(My Lonely Days Are Gone)

Hee Hee! Aaow!  
Chika-Chika  
Chika-Chika-Chika  
Go On Girl!-Hee Hee!  
(The Way You Make Me Feel)  
Hee Hee Hee!  
(You Really Turn Me On)  
(You Knock Me Off My Feet)  
(My Lonely Days Are Gone)

(The Way You Make Me Feel)  
(You Really Turn Me On)  
(You Knock Me Off My Feet)  
(My Lonely Days Are Gone)

Lipstick Affliction rang off stage. The crowd kept cheering.

"Holy fuck. Are they asking for a fucking encore?" Jimi asked huskily. Rachel nodded. Rachel threw her heels off and they ran back onstage.

"You want one more?" Rachel asked.

"This is for a very special someone. You know who you are!" Rachel said, and began to dance to the opening chords of _Whole Lotta Love_.

Puck stared at her. If she'd never mentioned classical training, and if he had'nt heard her belt musical numbers the way she did, he would have believed that she was a legit rock singer. And she was singing their song. He cheered loudly for his girl.

***

"We fucking nailed it!" Jimi crowed. Somehow she'd gotten her hands on some Coronas, so they toasted to their awesomeness and cheered. Sweet Caroline began to play from Rachel's phone.

"Hey baby! Yeah! Yes, I saw you guys! We did, didn't we? Yeah, you at stage door? Give me one second, I'll be there. Ok, bye!" Rachel hung up.

"So, you know how I'm in Glee? Well, they're all here. I'm bringing them backstage. There's someone I want you to meet." Rachel said. She ran to stage door, and ushered them all in. Rachel gestured for Jimi to come over.

"Jimi, this is my boyfriend Noah, Noah, this is Jimi." Puck took in her bleached blonde boy short hair, and zebra print leggings.

"Let me guess. You head Jimi and thought guy? No; my name is Jemima, and I fucking hate it. Rachel started calling me Jimi as a joke, and the name kinda stuck." Jimi explained.

"Ok, so there's cold beer, and a massive fucking window for us to smoke out of. We just gotta head back to mine to get it. You in?" Jimi asked. Rachel shrugged.

"Noah and I are. You guys keen?" she asked the Glee kids. Finn and Quinn were in, but Matt, Mike, Tina, Kurt, Mercedes and Artie all had to head home. Given the flirty looks between Santana and Jimi, it was obvious that Brittany and Santana were coming. They loaded Jimi's Combi with band equipment, and headed to the jeep Brittany was driving to follow Jimi back to her house.

***

"So, you and Jimi. Seems like an unlikely couple." Santana commented. Rachel grinned.

"Have you seen the movie _Thirteen?_" Rachel asked. Santana nodded.

"Jimi is my Evie. Our relationship isn't quite as destructive as theirs." Rachel said. She leaned over to Santana.

"Trust me, you're her type. I can see you both checking each other out, so get yourself over there if you want it." Rachel whispered. She pulled two beers out of the ice and walked over to Puck. He uncapped both and gave one back to her.

"I know you only came because you thought Jimi was a guy and you got jealous. The sentiment is sweet, regardless of the fact that you have nothing to worry about." Rachel looked over at Jimi, who was offering Santana a drag of her cigarette and giggling. Rachel kissed Puck.

"Did you like the encore?" She asked. Puck responded by kissing her.

***

Rachel with a few drinks in her became way more opinionated than she already was.

"Jimi, San, we can all see you eye fucking the shit out of each other. Can you just make out and get it over with? I can't speak for Santana, but Jimi is an excellent kisser." Rachel instructed. Finn, Brittany and Santana stared at Rachel in shock.

"I am an actor. My body is my instrument, it's perfectly natural for me to experiment with it. I've kissed most of my friends." Rachel said.

"And you know Rachel's been drinking when she gets all fucking open with the intimate details and tells people what to do." Jimi teased. The group broke into gasps and then cheers when Santana grabbed Jimi and kissed her.

"About time! I was about to start a game of spin the bottle!" Rachel crowed.

"have you seriously kissed all of your friends?" Brittany asked. Rachel nodded.

"All the actors, yeah. A few of the dancers. Its seriously not a big deal." Rachel said.

"What about your Glee friends?" Brittany asked. Rachel smirked.

"Only Finn and Noah so far." She replied. Finn, who had also had a few drinks, snorted.

"You're all talk!" He said. Rachel raised an eyebrow. She snuck a look at Puck who shrugged. She grabbed Brittany and kissed her. She pulled away and leered at Finn.

"Do you wanna rethink that? I told you, it's not a big deal!" Rachel said.

"Yeah, friends are allowed to make out. Its like, practice." Brittany said.

"Rach, I hope your parents are out. No way are you gonna shut up long enough to get you in your room." Puck said.

"They're off somewhere doing something, something. I wasn't really listening. I doubt they'd care. They'd probably be glad that I'm experimenting with teenage rites of passage." Rachel said. Quinn yawned.

"Do you mind if we jet? I'm falling asleep here." Quinn said. Everyone agreed.

"Hey, Jimi, we're gonna jet. It was good seeing you hot stuff!" Rachel said, hugging her tightly. Jimi pecked her lightly on the lips. Rachel saw Santana and Jimi swap numbers as they walked out the door. Rachel wound the window down and slipped her torso out to wave goodbye as Brittany drove away. Puck pulled her into the car.

"Seatbelt babe. Explaining to your dads why you're a smear on the road is way awkward, and it's a convo that I'm not ready to have." He said.

"Tonight was fun, wasn't it? I had fun!" Rachel chirped.

"Yeah, Rachel, we had fun. I didn't know you had this whole secret life going on though." Finn commented.

"Well, if you did, it wouldn't be a secret, would it?" Rachel replied. Finn nodded thoughtfully.

Brittany pulled up at Rachel's.

"Nope, Rach, dads are home." Quinn said.

"Ok Tweedledrunk, you are gonna take those shoes off, you're gonna keep quiet and I'm gonna make sure you don't fall down the stairs. You ready babe?' Puck asked. Rachel held her shoes by the heels and nodded. With some effort, she climbed out of the car and ran to her front door. Quinn opened the door, and Rachel clung to Puck as they made her way up to her bedroom. She pulled him through the door and pushed him onto her bed, before beginning to kiss him furiously. She began to speak through the kisses.

"Baby…do you…have a…condom?" She asked. Noah pulled away.

"Rachel, you're drunk. This isn't a decision you want to be making now." He said. Rachel stared at him.

"Is it because I'm not a cougar? Or because I'm not Quinn?" She asked quietly.

"Rachel, NO! Its not that, at all! You're drunk; and we are not going to have the first time we want together like this. I don't want you to resent me because I took advantage of something you said when you've had too much to drink. I care about you way too much to do that. Besides, the last time I slept with a drunk girl, it didn't end so well for either of us." He said. He kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Ok, baby, I think I should jet. My mom will kill me if I get home too late." He said. Rachel stood up shakily.

"I'm gonna change. Stay until I'm ready for bed?" She asked. She stumbled to the bathroom, and several bangs echoed. She emerged in a singlet and a pair of pink boxers.

"Ok, beautiful, get into bed." Noah ordered teasingly. He checked she had water next to her, and put a packet of ibuprofen on her bed side table.

"Ok baby, if you feel a little queasy, just run for the bathroom. Don't question it." He said. Rachel rolled her eyes at him.

"I've done this before Noah. The whole getting drunk thing. Getting lost in New York with Jimi was the tip of the iceberg." She said. Noah tucked the blanket around her. He kissed her forehead.

"Good night princess." He said. He turned her light off and snuck out her window

***

When the scene about Puck calling Rachel happened, Mark Salling's version of _Sweet Caroline_ began to play…I thought that was cool.

I have a few chapters pre written, but now that I'm back at uni, updates are gonna be way slower…its just how it goes! I know it sucks, I quite like being a bum!

Please review! 100th reviewer can request a one shot!

http:// www. youtube. com/ watch?v=QzSFBDPGkRY just watch…its Lea being stunning as usual


	14. Chapter 14

So…Rachel was a little OOC last chapter, but she needed to be! I see Jimi as that one friend that we all have who gets you into trouble, but you don't care because you love them so much. Rachel also needed to do something, and I the only way I could get her to do it is by getting her drunk hehe.

Be warned…the rating has gone up! And I used a translator for the Polish, please correct me if it's wrong.

So yeah, I should be doing readings, but you're getting this! You better enjoy!

***

Rachel's body clock woke her at 6am. She groaned at the sunlight streaming through her window. Spotting the box on her bedside table, she popped two painkillers and went back to sleep.

***

It was 11 when Rachel finally crawled out of bed. She took more painkillers, and wandered downstairs slowly. She went to the kitchen and fixed herself a cup of coffee so large it looked like she was drinking out of a bucket.

"Good morning sunshine!" Quinn said brightly. Rachel groaned.

"Baby is sleeping voice, please Quinn. My head is pounding and I'm craving Mexican food like a mofo." Rachel said. Quinn patted her cheek.

"Drink some Vitamin Water. You'll be fine." She said. Rachel rested her head on the table.

"So I told San and Jimi to make out, and I kissed Brittany to prove a point to your boyfriend. Did I do anything else embarrassing? Of course I did" She groaned. Quinn rubbed her back.

"I'm pretty sure the kissing was it." She said. Rachel shook her head.

"Nope. When Noah helped me up to my room last night, I basically threw myself at him, and got all whiny when he rejected my advances. Oh my gosh, I am SUCH an idiot." Rachel moaned.

"Rachel, he said no! The Noah Puckerman I know used to cruise for drunken chicks at parties because they were easier to nail! Him saying no is a good thing!" Quinn said.

"I'm gonna shower. I smell like a bar." Rachel said. It wasn't until she was under the spray that she let the tears fall.

***

"Howz ur hed?"

"I think I may actually be dying. What time do you finish work?"

"5pm. Y?"

"I'm coming over."

***

Noah walked through the front door of his house to see Rachel and Naomi sprawled on the couch, watching _Ella Enchanted._

"Hey brat, hey beautiful." He said. He ruffled Naomi's hair, and kissed Rachel's temple and rested his head against hers.

"Go take a shower babe. I need to talk to you about something, but I promised Naomi that we'd watch a whole movie together." Rachel said. He kissed her hair again and went upstairs. Rachel turned back to the movie.

She felt Noah sit back next to her, close to the end of the movie. She curled against him and watched the movie's conclusion.

"Nay, Rachel and I are going upstairs. Stay down here but…"

"…Don't answer the door and bring the phone to you if I don't know the number, and knock before I come in. I know! You tell me every time a girl is over!" Naomi replied. Noah took Rachel's hand and led her to his room. It wasn't as messy as she expected, and she took in the record covers stuck on his wall.

"I know something's wrong. Out with it." He said. Rachel sat down on his desk chair.

"I feel like such an idiot. I was drunk, and I acted like a floozy. No wonder you didn't want me. I'm sorry I put you in that position." She said. Noah picked her up and threw her onto the bed. He lay down next to her. He kissed her deeply.

"Rachel Barbara Berry. I want you. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything, ever. I don't just want sex from you. I want all of you." He stopped and kissed her again.

"I don't want you to hate me because I slept with you for the first time when you were drunk. You deserve better than that. You're not some lay in the back of my truck. I'm not your ex. Our first time together, I intend to remove every item of your clothing, and there will be lots of foreplay. You're not just some notch on my belt. I'm past screwing around. I really like you Rachel. Like you as in could love you soon." He froze. He hadn't meant to say that. Rachel rolled away from him.

"It's not that. I just don't want to freak you out with the water works." She sniffled. She pulled his arm around her waist.

"You don't have some agenda for me. Every guy I've ever met has. Nathan wanted to claim a prize, and Finn just used me for an ego boost. I'm not ready for sex. I just thought I should be. I got used so badly last time; I'm scared to let anyone in too fast. I know you aren't Nathan, but please, can we take it slow? And Noah, I feel the exact same way about you." Rachel said. She rolled back over to face him. She curls against him and sighed contentedly.

"How bad is your hangover?" he asked.

"Oh, you know. Not so bad that I can't do this." She kissed him. He instantly pulled her closer. Rachel ran her nails against the shaved part of his head lightly.

"You need a haircut." She said against his lips.

"Not really a concern right now babe," he replied, lavishing kisses across her collarbone. Rachel's hands slid under Noah's tee-shirt.

"How about we practice some of that clothing removal you told me so much about?" She said seductively. She pulled the shirt over his head. She moved so she was straddling his hips.

"Oh, what did I do to deserve you baby?" she asked. She ran gentle fingers across his stomach.

"How much did that hurt?" She asked, pointing to the nipple ring.

"Like a bitch. But I'm a man, I can take it." He replied. Rachel's slim fingers touching it did him in. He said up and kissed her. He settled on hand on the best ass in Lima, and the other began to explore the soft skin of her back. Rachel pulled away. She held her arms up and bit her lip. Noah hesitantly lifted the shirt over her head and threw it next to his. He swapped their positions. He noticed the fading mark on her chest with pride.

"You're gorgeous baby. Tell me when you need me to stop." He said. He kissed his way down her neck. His hand snaked up her back. He ran his hand across the pink lace of her bra, fully expecting his hand to be slapped away. It wasn't. He cupped her more fully, grinning when she pushed herself against him more firmly. He pushed her down.

"I like this bra baby, its pretty." He said quietly. He began to kiss his way down her sternum.

"I missed you." He mumbled, pressing a kiss against her breast.

"And you." He said, kissing the other. He pushed the strap of her bra down. He gently began to massage one breast, while sucking at the skin of the other. Rachel squirmed against him, moaning breathily. She sat up, and slid his hand to the clasp at her back and nodded slowly. Noah gently undid her bra. It joined the pile of clothes on the floor. Rachel looked up at him, and licked his nipple ring, just to see what would happen. The result was a frenzied make out session.

***

Noah looked over at the clock.

"My mom is going to be home soon, and she'll kill me if she finds out I was defiling the nice Jewish girl I brought home." Rachel nodded against his chest but made no effort to move.

"You're warm," she mumbled.

"Get dressed baby. You'll be warm then." He said. He picked her clothes up. He carefully did her bra up and helped her put her shirt back on. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her.

"You're stunning." He told her. He pulled his shirt back on.

"Let me fix your hair." Rachel said.

"Babe, if anyone needs to fix their hair, its you." He replied, pointing at her reflection. Rachel groaned, and fished a hairbrush out of her bag, and began to fix her hair.

"I meant your haircut, but if its secret man business, that' ok." She said. She reached up and kissed him. They broke apart.

"You can do my hair if you want to."

***

Rachel was surprisingly good with a pair of clippers. She got in close to the sides of his head without shaving him completely bald, and tidied the main strip of hair, keeping the lines between the two perfectly even and straight. She dusted his head off. She rubbed his scalp gently.

"There you go handsome." She said, kissing his forehead. She washed her hands and watched him sweep the clipped hair up.

"Wanna become the golden child?" Rachel asked.

"Right now, curing cancer is the only thing that could redeem me in my mother's eyes." He replied.

"Well, we can work on that, but I was thinking more along the lines of cook dinner. Providing there are no loud bangs I'll be fine." Rachel said.

"I thought you were dedicated to take out?"

"I can cook. I choose not to. What kind of Jew would I be if my Babcia and aunts hadn't taught me to cook?" She asked. She followed him to the kitchen.

"Babcia?" Noah asked.

"My Jewish family is from Poland. My Prababcia, or great grandmother, left Krakow in late August 1939. She ran away to America to become an actress. She had eight kids instead." Rachel said.

"What happened to the rest of the family?" Noah asked hesitantly.

"They went to Auschwitz. Prababcia had twin sisters, so they were taken very quickly. I can only imagine what happened to them. Her father and brother disappeared; we don't know what happened to them. Her little sister was liberated by the Russians, but she died five years later at the hands of the KGB. She was apart of the Polish Resistance to the Soviets." Rachel said proudly.

"My family was from Spain. They spent the Holocaust in someone's basement, Anne Frank style. My Grandpa came to America in the late 1950s." Noah said. Rachel wiped at her eyes.

"It's the onion, I swear!" She said. She threw them into the pan to brown.

"Nay, we're making lasagne. Come here and grate some cheese!" Noah called.

Rachel had the lasagne well underhand. It was in the oven, baking, as she taught Naomi to fold napkins into swans and Noah threw a salad together.

"I think I stepped into an alternate universe. The table is set; my children have prepared dinner and aren't trying to kill each other. Ok, what do you want?" Mrs. Puckerman asked.

"Can't we just do it because we love you?" Noah asked. He saw the expression on her face.

"Ok, fine, it was Rachel's idea." He said. Rachel smiled.

"Hi Mrs. Puckerman." She said politely.

"Rachel, please, call me Deborah. Mrs Puckerman makes me sound old." Deborah said, hugging her.

"I have no idea what you've done to my children, but please, keep it up." She added.

"Mommy, Rachel came over even before Noah got home. She told Mrs. McEwan that she'd take care of me and that she could go home. She watched _Ella Enchanted _with me and look, I have another loose tooth!" Naomi said, wiggling her loose canine tooth with her tongue.

"Well, it looks like I'll be giving the tooth fairy a call soon. I hope whoever set the table set a place for Rachel." Deborah said.

"No Mom, I made her cook us dinner and then I'm gonna make her go home hungry. I already invited her." Noah replied.

"And my son is back." Deborah quipped.

***

Rachel looked at the time.

"I better get your kitchen clean so I can head home. Quinn and I promised daddy we'd have a movie night with him." Rachel said. A funny look crossed Deborah's face.

"Quinn is the pregnant one, correct?" Deborah asked, shooting a look at her son.

"Yes. When I became aware of her situation, my parents made it clear we would offer her any and all support she needed. She's living with us now." Rachel replied.

"I don't mean to be rude, but that seems to be an extreme inconvenience for your family to take on for a classmate." Deborah said.

"I think I need to tell you a little bit of my family's history for you to understand, Deborah. My daddy is from Montgomery, Alabama. My grandparents met during the Bus Boycott. After the Civil Rights Act was passed, my granddaddy worked hard and became one of the richest men in the Deep South, despite the colour of his skin. But when his son, the all state champion quarterback told him he was gay, he was given an hour to pack.

Daddy lived in his best friend's basement. He told his best friend why he was kicked out, and everything was fine, until the night of high school graduation. He damn near got lynched by the football team he was beaten so hard. He hitchhiked to New York where he met my dad.

I have gay parents, one of whom is black, the other of whom is Jewish. I'm the result of a turkey baster and a surrogate. We know, first hand, what discrimination feels like. My parents made it very clear in my upbringing that if you see someone who needs your help, you give it, no questions asked. The fact that Quinn had made my high school life a misery became irrelevant when I found out she was living out of her car, which she had to sell to pay her doctor's bills. So no, it's not an inconvenience, it's our lifestyle, and now I have a sister." Rachel said. She took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, that sounded disrespectful." Rachel said.

"I had no idea your parents had gone through all of that. They're doing an admirable thing. Don't worry about the washing up Rachel, dinner was delicious. Noah, walk her to her car." Deborah ordered.

Noah shut the front door.

"Oh, she hates me now, doesn't she? Oh man, I get so feisty when I have a hangover!" Rachel groaned.

"No way Rach. My mom's top priority is family, and the fact that you just stood up to her for yours raises you like a million points in her mind." Noah soothed her. He kissed her cheek.

"Head home baby. Do that girly stuff you said you were gonna do with Quinn." He said. He opened her car door and watched her drive away.

***

Hope that makes more sense now! Reviews are awesome! I've hit over 100 now; reckon we can try for 150? 100th reviewer was Harmony352, who is a legend and reviewed every single chapter... give me some sort of prompt or plot suggestion, and you'll have a one shot sometime this year :P

I'm seeing Paramore tomorrow! Wheee I'm excited!

Oh yes, the last chapter's quote was '...you flip it over and ch-ello, you got a bass" from School of Rock.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey all! I really appreciated the kind reviews, particularly about Rachel's family. It was really fun to write, because there was so much freedom *smiles***

**So, I saw Paramore last night (gah, so amazing! I could gush for days… let me know if you want me to!) And when they played **_**The Only Exception**_** I thought of all of you lovely people and how you deserved an update even though I have mad writer's block… so here we have it, chapter 15; the first part of regionals!**

**Don't own! **

***

"So, because Regionals are this weekend, Principal Figgins wants us to perform a number for assembly on Wednesday, and we also have Friday off to rehearse. Thanks to Rachel threatening legal action against the school, we have a wheelchair bus to Cincinnati, and Dakota Stanley paid for our rooms, so we'll travel there straight from school. I have all your permission slips, so we just have to pick a number for assembly." Mr. Schue said.

"I don't trust Coach Sylvester. We can't do any real Regionals numbers; she'll probably sell a video of it to Vocal Adrenaline." Quinn said.

"We also can't do anything artistic. It would float right over their primitive little heads." Kurt said.

"Which would lead to slushie-ing the unfamiliar." Artie said.

"We should do the Kelly song from after Sectionals. If anyone is going to get slushie retribution from it, it's me." Rachel said.

"Come on Rach, don't make yourself a target." Finn said.

"Its called taking one for the team. Besides, we don't need costumes, and it actually shows that we like each other. Oh yes, Mr., Schue, is Ms. Pillsbury co-chaperoning?" Rachel asked. Kurt opened his laptop and logged into Twitter.

"Yes, Rachel, she is." Mr. Schuester sighed.

"Excellent. By the way, the two of you need to either work on discretion, or admit you're doing a Monica and Chandler. Anyhoo, shall we head to the gym to practice?" Rachel asked brightly. Kurt hit enter on his keyboard.

***

They had performed well. The reaction wasn't quite like the one they got for _Push It,_ but there was a smattering of applause. They sat together for the rest of assembly, each of them shooting cheerful grins at Coach Sylvester as they walked past her.

***

Rachel had just gotten home from dancing.

"Quinn, I haven't packed yet! Oh my God!" she yelled. She ran to her room and pulled out her overnight bag.

"It's ok. Calm yourself. Our costumes are at school. Dance bag." Quinn said.

"Packed. I have new band aids, extra gel cushions for my pointes, and foot thongs for everyone." Rachel said. She threw some clean dance clothes into the dance bag. She added new tights and leg warmers.

"Ok, wear dance stuff to school. You wear this on the bus trip, this to the performance, and you have this to wear in case anything happens to anything else." Quinn said, handing her several outfits.

"Ooh, Mr. Schue wants me to bring my portable laundry line. Can you grab it from Harry's room?" Quinn ran to the closet under the stairs as Rachel packed clean underwear.

"Quinn, did you pack the false eyelashes?" Rachel called out, rifling through her makeup kit.

"Never mind, I found them!" She said. She zipped her bag of toiletries up, and added it to her overnight back. She packed her straightening iron, curling tongs, hairspray, gel, a tin of safety pins and a roll of 1000 bobby pins she'd bought at the hairdresser's supply warehouse.

"Quinn, I am SO nervous!" Rachel groaned.

"We're going to be amazing. You made this bunch of people a team. Don't panic, at all. I'll crash in here tonight and we can watch 90's movies until we can sleep, ok?" Quinn said. Rachel nodded.

***

Quinn and Rachel unloaded their stuff the next morning.

"You girls are going to be fabulous tomorrow. Forget the stakes and just have fun. Your father and I love you both regardless of what happens. We'll see you both tomorrow sugarplums." Rachel's daddy kissed them both on the forehead.

"I love your parents. The last thing my father said to me before I left for cheerleading Nationals was, 'if you screw up, you embarrass the whole family on live TV. So don't screw up'" Quinn said.

"Proof positive yet again that your sperm donor is a douche." Rachel said. She walked into the auditorium and screamed.

"Michael Chang! Put down the milkshake and you will not be maimed. Do you know what dairy DOES to your vocal chords? It coats them in mucus, thus drastically reducing your singing capacity! Do you want mucus covered vocal chords? I didn't think so! Ladies and Gentlemen, we are all on strict dairy free diets until after we win Regionals. Accept no foodstuffs at the competition unless you saw them prepared. It's the easiest way to sabotage your competitors." Rachel called out

"And Rachel has her crazy hat back on." Mercedes said.

"Ok, all of you, on the barre! Usual warmups!" Santana called. They were practicing runs across the stage when Mr. Schue came in.

"Rachel, Brittany and Santana. Linda Perkins from the Ohio Academy of Performing Arts just dropped these off. She said she expects to see a trophy next week." Mr. Schue tossed them a package with their names on them.

"Oh, wow!" Brittany said. She pulled out a mauve pair of Pointe shoes.

"She must have ordered these when we got fitted for our black pointes." Santana said. Rachel smiled. She walked to the door of the auditorium, placed the shoe against the doorframe and slammed the door on it. She repeated the process with the other shoe.

"What the hell are you doing?" Finn asked.

"You have to soften ballet shoes. You can't wear them as you get them." Santana said. She laced the shoes up, and then stood by the barre and began to roll her foot through to a Pointe, and then repeated it with the other foot. She did this several times. Brittany smacked hers against the ground and then wet the heels and near the box of the shoes once she had them on. Rachel banged each shoe against the floor twice and put them on.

"But don't they like, go bad if they're too soft?" Mercedes asked. Rachel nodded.

"Oh yeah, but you'll tear the feet off your skin if you wear them as they come. You'll also fall on your butt because they're so slippery. This speeds up the process of wearing them in." She said.

"Exactly how long do they last?"

"I get about four months out of mine. It depends how often and how hard you dance. Most prima ballerinas go through a pair in a performance. Some dancers even put on new shoes in intermission." Brittany said. They all tested rising en Pointe.

"Ok, we're ready." Rachel said. They began to run the opening number.

***

"Ok, guys, that was great. Just make sure you really point your toes, and make sure you all turn the same way. Get your breath and change into your costumes. We need to do more dress runs." Mr. Schuester called.

***

"Mr. Schuester, if we rehearse one more time, we are going to kill somebody, most likely you. Can we just chill? The bus is getting here in thirty, and I need to make sure the costumes are stored properly so they don't get crushed." Mercedes said.

"Ok, guys, go get ready for the trip. I know we're ready to perform, we need to stay fresh." Mr. Schue said. Rachel changed out of her costume and reverently handed her costume bag to Mercedes. She changed into the outfit Quinn picked for her the night before. She checked all her things were packed. Puck came over and rubbed her shoulders.

"Whoa baby, could you bring any more stuff?" She elbowed him.

"I got put on hair and makeup supply duty. Remove that and I only have my overnight bag and my dance bag." Rachel said.

"Ok, guys, the bus is out front. We're leaving right as school finishes, so let's go with our heads held high." Mr. Schue said.

There were no slushies as they got on the bus. Ms. Pillsbury got on ahead to disinfect a seat, and Puck nearly had a heart attack when the bus driver nearly dropped the electric guitar. He insisted on bringing his acoustic onto the bus. They drove away without fanfare.

"Ok, the place we're staying at has full wheelchair access. There is a room for the girls, and a room for the guys. I know you won't try anything stupid with two teachers down the hall. Let's just be mature this weekend and we'll have a great time. We'll find a local place to have dinner and breakfast, with money rerouted to us from the Cheerios budget." Mr. Schue said. Puck moved to an empty seat and pulled out his guitar.

"Ok, let's do this." He said. He began to play _Sweet Home Alabama._

***

Artie was currently playing _Where Is the Love?_ By the Black Eyed Peas. Rachel leaned against Puck and listened to Matt rap the verses before joining in on the chorus. Rachel smiled when Kurt took a photo of the pair. The bus stopped.

"Ok, guys, we're here." Mr. Schue said. He went to check in as the group pulled out their belongings from the belly of the bus.

"Ok, I think it best that we just get out stuff to our rooms and we eat. We don't really know the town and it's probably best that we find somewhere that will sit fourteen of us sooner rather than later." Ms. Pillsbury said. They dumped their stuff in their room and ventured out.

***

"Oooh, there looks good." Rachel said, pointing to a steakhouse. She called their number and confirmed they had room.

"They're setting up for us now." Rachel said. They climbed out of the bus. The waitress seated them and gave them unshelled peanuts to snack on.

"Rachel Barbara Berry, is that you?" A voice called out. Rachel turned around and ran over to hug someone. They came over to the table.

"Everyone, this is my cousin Leon and his wife Josephine, and this gorgeous creature here is my goddaughter, Lily. Isn't she just a doll?" Rachel said, cuddling the baby in her arms.

"Sit down and join us. We're in town for our Glee Club competition tomorrow." Rachel said. She sat next to Puck as the table was extended.

"Isn't she just the most adorable thing?" Rachel asked. She let the baby chew on her Star of David necklace.

"Yeah. The baby is kinda cute too." Puck replied.

"The baby was who I was talking about. Oh Lily, you are so gosh darn beautiful I don't care if you puke white all over me." Rachel said. She continued the baby talk with her goddaughter.

"How old is she?" Quinn asked.

"She's six and a half months. Here, hold her!" Rachel said, passing Quinn the baby before she could protest. Quinn looked uncomfortable, but slowly relaxed. She was more than happy to pass her back to Rachel, who allowed Puck to hold her.

"Rach, you are the proudest godmom I've ever seen. Picture!" Kurt said. Rachel took Lily back and turned to pose for Kurt. Rachel turned to Puck.

"I can't wait to have one of my own. And now because of everything that's happened, I'm a step closer." Rachel said. Dinner was served.

"Josie, you go ahead and eat while your meal is hot. I'm fine here." Rachel said. She accepted the bottle of expressed breast milk off of Leon, and fed Lily, who, after she was burped, fell asleep in Rachel's arms.

"Here, Rachel, put her in the stroller. You are such a natural at putting babies to sleep. Quinn, milk it for all it is worth." Josie said. Quinn quirked an eyebrow at Rachel, who was digging into her beef salad.

"Oh no. At 3 am Drizzle is your daughter." Rachel said.

***

The group went out for sorbet after dinner.

"You're really good with kids Rachel. I'm glad we're gonna be mommies together." Quinn said. She rubbed a hand across her stomach. Rachel pressed a hand against her belly and smiled when she felt Drizzle high five her through Quinn's skin.

***

"Ok guys, bed! Please don't stay up all night! You need to be rested for tomorrow!" Mr. Schue said. They exchanged goodnights and trudged to their rooms. Rachel rifled through her bag. She groaned and walked over to the boys room. She knocked on the door.

"Kurt, can you grab Noah for me?" Rachel asked. Puck came to the door.

"Noah, I need your shirt." Rachel said firmly.

"Umm, why?" He asked.

"I forgot my pyjamas" Rachel said.

"And you need my shirt because…"

"Oh, don't worry then. I'll sleep naked. I mean, I don't have a problem if Brittany or Santana cop a peek, but I do have a tendency to sleepwalk when staying in unfamiliar places." Rachel said. Puck whipped the shirt over his head.

"Thank you baby." Rachel smiled and kissed him goodnight. She grinned as she saw Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury enter the spare room together.

"Do any of you mind if I shower in the morning?" Rachel asked. When shower schedules had been worked out, Rachel climbed into bed and texted Kurt the latest details of Wemma Watch. She put her iPod in and allowed the _West Side Story_ soundtrack lull her to sleep.

***

And we hit the big competition in the next chapter…and it's epically long too! Reviews are awesome!


	16. Chapter 16

**I am posting after the most epic weekend of my life. Friday was a 21****st****, with vodka spiked raspberry slushies (OMGSH, so good) and Saturday involved going to the city on the same night as Mardi Gras (scary). The bar I was at played **_**Ride Wit Me**_** and my Glee obsessed friend and I got really excited...then we scored a heap of free tequila shots and everything gets kinda hazy... I definitely remember standing on a couch and pulling some Glee moves when they played **_**Push It**_** by Salt n Pepa. So yeah... that was my weekend...**

**I've had some questions about the songs I've been using**

**So far they've been**

_Whole Lotta Love- Led Zepplin_

_The Only Exception- Paramore_

_Money Honey- Lady Gaga_

_We Are The Champions- Queen_

_Mama Who Bore Me- Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_Mama Who Bore Me (reprise)- Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_The Bitch of Living-Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_Totally Fucked- Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_Without You- Rent Soundtrack_

_For Good- Wicked Soundtrack_

_Bad Influence- Pink_

_I Love Rock'n'Roll- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts_

_The Way You Make Me Feel- Michael Jackson_

**I'll point out the songs used in this chapter at the end... a few other songs are mentioned by name, so now you have all you need to make a iTunes playlist :P**

**Don't own! If I did there would be Puckleberry, and lots of it **

***

"Ok, we will not be returning here until after the competition. Please triple check you have everything!" Mr. Schue called.

"We need to be mindful of the time. We will have fifteen minutes at nine thirty to walk through our routines on stage. We need to be at the venue with time to spare to make sure we can use our time effectively. Everyone on the bus! Breakfast time!" Mr. Schue said.

***

They had eaten. Rachel looked at her team. They all had their game faces on. She twirled on the stage.

"Ok, so I'm finding the stage ok. Can we try a run to make sure nobody is going to fall on their face?" Rachel asked Brittany and Santana. They leapt across the stage to ensure that nobody was going to fall.

"Ok, centre stage is here guys. Try a few of your positions please!" Mr. Schue called out. He was obviously stressed and the group moved quickly to appease him.

***

It was getting close to performance time. They had done their vocal warm ups, and they were all stretched out. Rachel was costumed, and had arm and leg warmers on. She was making final adjustments to her hair (all the girls had it out with a braid going across the front of their heads to keep their hair out of their eyes, with the rest of their hair out) and makeup when she smelt trouble.

"You are nothing but a cheap slut. Seriously, why are you even here?" Rachel saw Andrea Cohen, female lead of Vocal Adrenaline harassing Quinn.

"You need to back off. You must be seriously concerned about your obvious lack of talent if you've reduced yourself to trash talk." Rachel snapped. Amber attempted to use her superior height to get into Rachel's face.

"Your friend here is a fucking whore. Apparently I'm the only one who isn't too scared to tell it to her like it is. She is a disgrace to this competition, and from what Nathan has told me about you…" Rachel didn't actually realise she'd done it. Her fist connected with Amber's face with a sickeningly satisfying crunch.

"I told you to back off. Don't worry; daddy can buy you a new nose!" Rachel said. Amber ran off crying, and the rest of Glee club surrounded Quinn and Rachel.

"Holy shit Rach! Look at your hand!" Tina said. Rachel looked down at her hand. It was obvious two of her fingers had been thrown out of their joints with the force of her punch.

"I didn't get blood on my costume did I?" Rachel asked frantically.

"Who cares? Rachel, your knuckles are on the wrong side of your hand! You need to go to hospital!" Kurt said hysterically.

"Kurt, we're on stage in less than an hour. We don't have time to wait at the emergency room all day!" Rachel turned to the footballers.

"I assume one of you knows how to fix this?" She asked them. Puck looked at her.

"No fucking way." He said firmly.

"Rach, it'll hurt like a bitch." Matt warned her.

"I don't care. Somebody get me something to bite down on." Rachel said. Mercedes found a clean washcloth and put it between her teeth. Puck grabbed her good hand and turned her to face him.

"Ok baby, that was seriously badass. Just look at me and breathe. Everything's cool. Think about how good the victory chocolate brownie and ice cream I'm buying you is gonna taste…" Noah nearly threw up at the strangled yelps Rachel gave as he heard Matt pop her bones back into place. Rachel bit down firmly on the washcloth as tears slid down her cheeks and she dug her nails into the palm of his hand. He hugged her tightly.

"You're alright baby. For the record, I never want to hear that sound come out of you again." He whispered. Quinn shoved him out of the way.

"You're such an idiot! Why did you do that?" She asked. Rachel hugged her.

"Are you kidding me? I may not exactly be Queen Bee, but nobody messes with my girl. Stupid bitch got what was coming to her." Rachel said. Kurt insisted on photos for posterity. Matt handed her an ice pack.

"Keep your hand above your heart. I'm sorry that hurt you." Matt said.

"Oh, don't you be ridiculous. I'm fine! Thanks for the battlefield first aid." Rachel said. She hugged him, and she sat down and let Kurt fix the tear tracks in her makeup.

***

"New Directions, we need you in the wings in five!" The stage manager called. They formed a circle. Rachel checked that Tina had her costume changes for _Higher Ground _with her.

"If you guys screw this up, I'll kill you all." Rachel deadpanned.

"I'm totally kidding. Chookas! We're gonna own that stage!" Rachel said. They exchanged hugs and kisses, and allowed Quinn to lead them in a short prayer session, before they ran down to the wings. Rachel checked her shoes had rosin on them and leapt onto the stage as the music began.

Tina stood at centre stage and began to sing as the rest of the club soared around her.

_I used to rule the world  
Seas would rise when I gave the word  
Now in the morning I sleep alone  
Sweep the streets I used to own  
_

The club made a path for Tina to walk between

_  
I used to roll the dice  
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes  
Listen as the crowd would sing  
__**"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"**_The team added as she walked through the middle of them_**  
**__  
One minute I held the key  
Next the walls were closed on me  
And I discovered that my castles stand  
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand_

_**I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field**_

For some reason I can't explain  
Once you go there was never  
Never an honest word  
And that was when I ruled the world  
_  
It was the wicked and wild wind  
Blew down the doors to let me in  
Shattered windows and the sound of drums  
People couldn't believe what I'd become_

Revolutionaries wait  
For my head on a silver plate  
Just a puppet on a lonely string  
Oh who would ever want to be king?

_**I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field**_

For some reason I can't explain  
I know Saint Peter won't call my name  
Never an honest word  
But that was when I ruled the world  


The rest of the group formed a semi circle and began to scat as Tina, Brittany and Rachel began a pas de trois. They danced across the stage and launched themselves into lifts as Tina began to sing the chorus over the scatting.

_  
I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field_

For some reason I can't explain  
I know Saint Peter won't call my name  
Never an honest word  
But that was when I ruled the world

Everyone save Rachel and Quinn cleared offstage. Kurt sat down at the piano. Rachel gave Quinn a small smile before standing downstage right and beginning to sing.

_I'm limited  
Just look at me - I'm limited  
And just look at you  
You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda  
So now it's up to you  
For both of us - now it's up to you..._

Quinn moved downstage to Rachel as she sang

**I've heard it said  
That people come into our lives for a reason  
Bringing something we must learn  
And we are led  
To those who help us most to grow  
If we let them  
And we help them in return  
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true  
But I know I'm who I am today  
Because I knew you**

Like a comet pulled from orbit  
As it passes a sun  
Like a stream that meets a boulder  
Halfway through the wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I knew you  
I have been changed for good

Rachel turned to Quinn

_It well may be  
That we will never meet again  
In this lifetime  
So let me say before we part  
So much of me  
Is made of what I learned from you  
You'll be with me  
Like a handprint on my heart  
And now whatever way our stories end  
I know you have re-written mine  
By being my friend..._

Like a ship blown from its mooring  
By a wind off the sea  
Like a seed dropped by a skybird  
In a distant wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I knew you

**Because I knew you**

_**I have been changed for good**_

The girls moved to centre stage, and faced each other, right palms raised to shoulder height and they moved in a circle

_And just to clear the air  
I ask forgiveness  
For the thing I've done you blame me for_

**But then, I guess we know  
There's blame to share**

_**And none of it seems to matter anymore**_

They stopped moving, and faced the audience dead on, both singing proudly with tears running down their faces.

**Like a comet pulled from orbit  
As it passes a sun  
Like a stream that meets a boulder  
Halfway through the wood**

_Like a ship blown from its mooring  
By a wind off the sea  
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood_  
_**  
Who can say if I've been  
Changed for the better?  
I do believe I have been  
Changed for the better  
**_

Quinn turned towards Rachel,  
**And because I knew you...**

Rachel turned to face Quinn,

_Because I knew you..._

_**Because I knew you...  
I have been changed for good.**_

The second the blackout hit Rachel hauled ass backstage. By the time she hit the wings she'd removed her mauve and black leotard and flowing skirt set, revealing a cropped black dance top with a laced back. She laid down so Tina could undo her ballet slippers (her fingers were way too swollen to manage the task) help her slip on her black fishnets, and she pulled on her black and white tutu. She shoved her feet into her jazz boots and ran onstage as the melody began. Rachel landed a double turn and blew a kiss to the audience. The black and white that the team had changed into looked amazing. She snuck a look at her black pants and white wife beater clad boyfriend, and nearly stopped dancing he looked so good. Artie swung his wheelchair around and began to sing.

_People  
Keep on learnin'  
Soldiers  
Keep on warrin'  
World,  
Keep on turnin'  
Cause it won't be too long.  
Powers  
Keep on lyin',  
While your people  
Keep on dyin'  
World,  
Keep on turnin',  
Cause it won't be too long._

The group joined in for the chorus

_**I'm so darn glad He let me try it again,  
'Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin.  
I'm so glad that I know more than I knew then.  
Gonna keep on tryin' till I reach the highest ground.  
**_

Rachel ran as hard as she could at Brittany. Brittany pushed hard, and Rachel landed the backflip with ease, gaining the gasps of the audience.

_Teachers,  
Keep on teachin'  
Preachers,  
Keep on preachin',_

They had kept the teasing sign of the cross, and they launched into a triple turn in perfect unison

_World, keep on turnin',  
'Cause it won't be too long.  
Oh, no  
Lovers,  
Keep on lovin'  
While believers  
Keep on believin'.  
Sleepers,  
Just stop sleepin'  
'Cause it won't be too long.  
Oh, no!  
_  
_**I'm so darn glad He let me try it again,  
'Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin.  
I'm so glad that I know more than I knew then.  
Gonna keep on tryin' till I reach the highest ground.  
**_  
As Artie began to speak over the music, each group member came out and took a few seconds for a solo.

Tina beat out a few steps from a tap routine. Brittany stretched her foot up over her head and then dropped into the splits. Kurt came up and gave a Single Ladies hand. Mercedes dipped some random dance moves in chocolate

_**Till I reach the highest ground.**_  
'_cause me 'n' Stevie, see, we're gonna be a sailin' on the funky sound  
_

Santana did a few cha cha steps and winked cheekily. Matt did the helicopter and Mike popped and locked.

_An' Stevie knows that, uh, no-body's gonna bring me down.  
__**Till I reach the highest ground**_.

_Bustin' out, an I'll break you out, 'cause I'm sailin' on.  
__**Till I reach the highest ground**_

Quinn made very obvious eye contact with Ingrid Moore whom she saw in the audience, before rubbing her stomach proudly and air kissing.

Rachel executed a perfect grand jete and then did several complex ballet jumps.

_Just, uh, sailin' on sailin' on the higher ground_  
_**Till I reach the highest ground**_

The music sped up. They quickly formed an inverted V, and began to spin as the drums came in. The lights flashed dramatically and they dropped to the floor as the lighting blacked out.

They stood up, abandoned their instruments and ran offstage. They could hear the crowd cheering for them as they ran into the holding room. Mr. Schuester burst into the room.

"I have never seen you perform better. You were absolutely brilliant! I have never been prouder!" They screamed and crammed themselves into a group hug.

"Rach, it is time you get your hand looked at." Quinn said firmly, leading Rachel to the first aid tent. Andrea was sitting there, bemoaning her nose when Ingrid burst in.

"Andrea! Stage! NOW! I don't care that you were stupid enough to get your nose broken. I warned you about fraternising with the enemy. Get up and get your sorry self on the stage, now!" She ordered her. Rachel looked down at her strapped fingers.

"Thank you! Excuse us; we have to go watch our competition!" Rachel said.

***

Apparently the black eye and crushed nose Rachel had delivered to their lead singer was enough to shake the confidence of all of Vocal Adrenaline. Their performance was just above average, at best. Rachel scoffed at their lack of professionalism. They needed to suck it up and cope.

"That was the final performance of the competition. Please enjoy a short break as the judges confer."

***

Rachel was chatting to her parents animatedly when someone tapped her shoulder.

"Jimi! You came!" Rachel said. Jimi gestured to Santana. Rachel winked.

"Go, flirt, but first…I punched someone in the face! The bitch from Vocal Adrenaline. Someone popped my fingers back into place backstage…how awesome am I?" Rachel said.

"Babe, you are so fucking awesome! I'm gonna go flirt now…Beware, a certain douche is coming your way." Jimi said. Rachel rolled her eyes as Nathan approached her.

"You punched her in the face? What kind of animal are you?" He snapped. Rachel shrugged.

"I'm a mama bear Don't insult my intelligent by pretending to care. I could smell your handiwork all over that little stunt. Oh, and by the way…kicking your ass was delicious. It was almost worth having to put up with you attempting to eat my face last summer to humiliate you publically. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find my boyfriend who could crush you like a bug. Have a nice life, and please, enjoy obscurity." Rachel said. Rachel headed over to Puck.

"Hey, dad, hey daddy. Oh my goodness, hi Deborah. You all came together, didn't you?" Rachel asked. Her dad nodded.

"Why am I not surprised?" Her daddy handed her a red rose, tied with a black ribbon.

"You were amazing sweetheart. You and Quinn brought all of us to tears." He said. Rachel hugged him.

"Thanks daddy. It was such an honour to sing with her." Rachel said. The bells rang to indicate that they should move inside.

Glee found a spot at the front of the auditorium. Rachel changed back into her Pointes and sat herself on Puck's lap. She was squeezing Quinn's hand tightly and had linked arms with Tina. Looking around, all of the Glee club were burrowed together, all of them linked through touch somehow. The compare stepped on stage.

"As I'm sure you will all agree, today has shown us some amazing performances. I have been given the task of announcing our finalists. Due to the balance of points, only one team will be continuing on in this year's show choir competition." Rachel's eyes bugged out of her head. She bit her lip and put her head down.

"Our fourth runner up this year is Vocal Adrenaline from Carmel High School!" He announced. The team ran up to collect their green ribbons, and Ingrid accepted their small trophy with a bitter expression on her face.

"Oh my gosh! Guys, we could do this!" Mercedes whispered.

"Our third runner up is Sing Stars, from Mead Academy!" The team ran up on stage.

"Our first runners up this year are The Sound of Music from Cincinnati Regional High School!" A cheer echoed around the room. Second place on home turf was obviously quite an achievement. Rachel's heart was in her throat. She buried her head in the crook of Puck's shoulder as the final announcement was made.

"And finally, in first place, is a team making their first show in this competition. Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for William McKinley High School's New Directions!" They were on their feet. Tears were running down Rachel's face as she latched herself around Puck's neck and he spun her in a circle. They took to the stage, and accepted their gold medals. Mr. Schuester held up their massive trophy with pride.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is an incident that has not happened since 1988. When a team earns full marks from all three judges, they are given automatic entry to the national level competition. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for New Directions, who will be representing Ohio at Nationals in California in two months time!" Rachel's jaw dropped. As if winning could get any sweeter. She hugged the first person she saw.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our champions in their victory number." New Directions looked at each other. They certainly hadn't planned a victory number. Mercedes whispered a song to them. It was a new number, which apparently was getting its debut right now.

Mercedes began to sing.

_I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night_

A feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night  


Kurt joined Mercedes singing

_  
A feeling, woohoo, that tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night_

A feeling, woohoo, that tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night  


The whole group came in singing, not caring about harmonies or choreography; it was like a jam session in the auditorium

_  
Tonight's the night, let's live it up  
I got my money, let's spend it up  
Go out and smash it like oh my God  
Jump off that sofa, let's get, get off  
_

Tina took the next solo

_  
I know that we'll have a ball  
If we get down and go out and just lose it all  
I feel stressed out, I wanna let it go  
Let's go way out spaced out and losing all control  
_

Rachel and Puck got pushed forward, and they joined hands and Puck spun Rachel as they sang

_  
Fill up my cup, mazel tov  
Look at her dancing, just take it off  
Let's paint the town, we'll shut it down  
Let's burn the roof, and then we'll do it again  
_

Artie took over

_  
Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it, let's do it  
And do it and do it, let's live it up  
And do it and do it and do it, do it, do it  
Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it_

The whole group started singing again

_  
'Cause I gotta feeling, woohoo,  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night_

A feeling, woohoo, that tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night

Matt and Mike began to sing together, the rest of the club singing the backup

_Tonight's the night  
(Hey! )  
Let's live it up  
(Let's live it up)  
I got my money  
(Paid! )  
Let's spend it up  
(Let's spend it up)_

Go out and smash it  
(Smash it)  
Like oh my God  
(Like oh my God)  
Jump off that sofa  
(Come on! )  
Let's get, get off

Fill up my cup  
(Drank)

The group surrounded Puck and Rachel, lifting both of them into the air

_  
Mazel tov  
(L'chaim)_ Puck and Rachel shouted. _  
Look at her dancing  
(Move it, move it)  
Just take it off  
_They didn't notice it, but they were all singing together again

_  
Let's paint the town  
(Paint the town)  
We'll shut it down  
(Let's shut it down)  
Let's burn the roof  
(whoooo)  
And then we'll do it again  
_

Finn lifted Quinn bridal style, and he stepped forward as they sang

_  
Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it, let's do it  
And do it and do it, let's live it up  
And do it and do it and do it, do it, do it  
Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it, do it, do it, do it  
_

They dragged Mr. Schue on stage, and made him sing the next verse _  
_

_Here we come, here we go, we gotta rock  
(Rock rock rock rock rock)  
Easy come, easy go, now we on top  
(Top top top top top)  
Feel the shot, body rock, rock it, don't stop  
(Stop stop stop stop stop)  
Round and round, up and down, around the clock  
(Rock rock rock rock rock)  
_

Brittany and Santana began to sing

_  
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday  
Friday, Saturday, Saturday to Sunday  
Get, get, get, get, get with us, you know what we say, say  
Party every day, p-p-p-party every day_

And I'm feelin', woohoo, that tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night  


They stood, arms around each other, singing the final verse.

_  
I gotta feeling, woohoo, that tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night  
Woohoo_

They bowed to the audience, and grinned as they cheered for them.

***

The team stood in the lobby, posing for photos. They greeted family, and congratulated fellow competitors. Ingrid offered them sour faced congratulations as she led her sombre faced team to their bus. Eventually the team climbed onto the bus. They sang _We Are The Champions _raucously until they got to their hotel. They quickly packed their things and reloaded themselves onto the bus.

"You guys are going to go down in McKinley history. You are bringing Glee back! I am so proud of each and every one of you!" Rachel stood up.

"This isn't a big speech from me, for once. I love all of you guys so much! I'm so proud to be on a team with you. Victory party at my house next Saturday!" She called out. The group cheered loudly. Puck handed Artie his guitar and the jammed the whole way home.

***

**So, the new songs in this chapter were**

_Viva La Vida- Coldplay _(the only Coldplay song I like)

_For Good-Wicked Soundtrack _(but we've already seen that)

_Higher Ground-Red Hot Chili Peppers _

_I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas_

**So, that was regionals… hope you liked! Reviews are like crack to me**


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh my gosh! Over 150 reviews? You guys are too awesome! I uploaded **_**Say Its Me That You Adore**_**, which is Harmony's one shot for 100 reviews, so check it out, and Marinka has given me a prompt for 150, which I'm starting to play with now... Do you think we can make it to 200? I hope so!**

**These next few chapters will see my education student coming out... I'll give a more detailed explanation down below.**

***

Rachel woke up at 6. She crawled out of bed and worked out. She dressed with care, despite the niggling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She packed a change of clothes, regardless. Today was Glee's victory march, and nothing could ruin that, not even a slushie facial

***

"Quinn, I have a funny feeling about today. Bring extra clothes."Quinn nodded and ran upstairs as Rachel sent off a group text saying the same thing. Quinn came back with a spare outfit. There was a knock at the door. Quinn and Rachel gathered their things and left for the day.

"Good morning!"Rachel chirped. She was determined to stay positive.

"Hi Rachel, hi Quinn. You guys sounded really pretty the other day."Naomi said.

"Thanks Naomi. It was really cool that you came."Quinn replied. Puck pulled over at Naomi's school. Naomi jumped out of the car and waved.

"Kurt just texted me. He said he thinks we should meet out the front of the school and walk in together. Present a united front or something."Rachel said.

"Seems fair enough."Puck replied. He parked at school.

"Do you mind if Rachel and I leave our emergency clothes here?"Quinn asked. Puck shrugged, and Quinn removed the clothes from Rachel's hands and left them in the car.

"We're being alert, not alarmed. Positive thoughts Ms. Berry."Quinn said firmly. They moved to the school entrance and met Tina, Kurt and Mercedes. Mercedes sneezed loudly and Tina wordlessly handed her a tissue box.

"We're all sick."Kurt rasped. He coughed loudly. Rachel took a step back.

"I mean this lovingly, but please, don't breathe on me."Rachel cautioned.

"I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. You got no problem there Starshine."Mercedes replied. One by one, the rest of the Glee club joined them, Brittany and Santana limping slightly.

"Sue found out about Regionals. She's still pissed we didn't take Nationals, so she killed us at practice."Santana explained. As a show of defiance, the cheerleaders had changed out of their uniforms, and looked much less harsh without their severe ponytails and red and white tiny skirts.

"We may as well do this. Slushie happens."Matt said. Rachel took Puck's hand, and held her folder ready to deflect any shaved ice thrown her way. Nothing happened. It was like they were invisible. Mr. Schue came up to them.

"Great news guys. Figgins is thrilled about Regionals and he wants us to perform in assembly fouth period. We're doing _Viva La Vida_."He said. Tina sneezed in his face. Mercedes unwrapped a throat lozenge and popped it in her mouth, sighing in relief.

"I think you're going to have to accept some sort of modification. Mercedes, Kurt and Tina shouldn't be talking, let along singing, and Santana and Brittany can barely walk."Rachel said. Mr. Schue stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Can you front a band, Rachel?"He asked. She scoffed indignantly.

"Ok, Rachel, Artie, Puck, Finn. I have an idea."

***

The only number they'd pulled together quicker was the Stones number for Sectionals. Rachel stood behind the curtain with the boys. She hugged them all and kissed Puck quickly as she heard Mr. Schuester begin to speak.

"I told you guys earlier that Glee was on its way back. We're not going to disappoint. We're off to California in two months for Nationals. Some friends of mine are going to give you a taste of what we can do."Rachel straightened her tartan skirt and white shirt and gripped her mike. Puck began to play the intro to the song, and Rachel began to move along with the beat as the bass and drums came in.

_Things are looking up, oh finally!  
I thought I'd never see the day when you smile at me. _Rachel looked over at Puck, who winked at her._  
We always pull through  
oh when we try,  
I'm always wrong but you're never right.  
You're never right!_

Rachel began to jump as she sang the chorus.

_Honestly, can you believe we crossed the world while it's asleep?  
I'd never trade it in, cuz I've always wanted this!  
It's not a dream anymore! Ohhh..  
It's not a dream anymore! It's worth fighting for.  
_

Rachel shrugged and moved towards the Glee club who were sitting in the front row as she sang

_  
Could have given up so easily  
I was a few cheap shots away from the end of me _Kurt giggled and blew her a kiss._  
Taken for granted, almost everything that I would have died for  
Just yesterday,  
Just yeterday_

_Honestly, can you believe we crossed the world while it's asleep?  
I'd never trade it in, cuz I've always wanted this!  
It's not a dream anymore! Ohhh..  
It's not a dream anymore! It's worth fighting for.  
_

Rachel moved back to the band as she sang the bridge, smiling when the boys took backup vocals_  
_

_God knows the world doesn't need another band, (whoo-oa, whooo-oa!)  
But what a waste it would've been! (whoo-oa, whooo-oa!)  
I can't believe we almost -- (whoo-oa, whooo-oa!)  
We're just getting started (whoo-oa, whooo-oa!)_

_Honestly, can you believe we crossed the world while it's asleep?  
I'd never trade it in, cuz I've always wanted this!  
It's not a dream anymore! Ohhh..  
It's not a dream anymore! It's worth fighting for._

The music stopped for a few seconds. Rachel belted the next line

_I can't believe we almost hung it up (whoo-oa, whooo-oa!)_

The band came back in and Rachel put her mike on the stand as she waved her arms to the music. She noticed several people do the same thing

_We're just getting started (whoo-oa, whooo-oa!)  
I can't believe we almost hung it up (whoo-oa, whooo-oa!)  
We're just getting started  
We're just getting started._

Glee club gave a standing ovation. Everyone else just clapped politely. When Rachel took her seat she was sure to send Sue Sylvester a cheerful grin.

***

Rachel exited the assembly alone and began to walk to her locker. A group of jocks surrounded her. She saw the slushie cups. She knew it was coming. She couldn't help the bravado that came over her. It was pitiable the way that they thought that a few cups of cold corn syrup would affect her.

"Is that all you've got? Go ahead. I'm secure in the knowledge that scum like you will pump gas into my car for the rest of your pathetic existance."Rachel asserted. She wasn't shocked when the icy liquid hit her. She waited until they ran away guffawing until she reacted to the acrid scent around her. She looked down. She sent out a 911 text as she ran for the choir room. She was met by Kurt and Quinn, who had escaped literature down the hall.

"Apparently slushie wasn't enough. Karovsky and co added glue. I'm gonna have to shave my head."She burst into tears. The gunk all over her hands prevented her from wiping them away. She had to sit there looking utterly miserable.

"Get Puck. He has extra clothes in his car. Whoever you see first, send them to Rachel's locker and get her shower stuff. We'll be in the auditorium using the showers."Quinn ordered. Kurt bolted.

"Ok, Rach, let's move. We need to get you clean before this stuff goes hard."Rachel nodded. They snuck into the auditorium and with some effort, stripped Rachel of her ruined clothes and got her into a hot shower.

"I just got out of Spanish. Here, take this. I'll tell Schue what happened, there's no way I'm just gonna sit in class. I'm gonna go steal the Cheerio hair stuff. I'll be back soon."Santana said.

"Rach, I'm coming into the cubicle for a sec. I have your shower stuff."Quinn called out. Rachel accepted the bag off Quinn, and began to slough at her skin viciously, leaving red patches in her wake.

"I have her clothes. What the hell happened? Beyonce just said there was a slushie attack."Quinn pulled Puck away from the door.

"It was bad. From the amount of crap on her, there must have been at least five guys. They added glue to the mix. I don't know how we're gonna get it out of her hair. She's trying to scrub it all off now."Quinn said.

"Who did it?"Puck asked. Quinn shrugged.

"She mentioned Karovsky. I'm not one hundred percent. I just wanted to get her into the shower before the glue dried. I'll take her clothes up to her now. You can plot revenge later, but I'm telling her dads. This has gone way too far. Glue; I mean, seriously! That's just wrong!"Quinn said. Santana ran in with the Cheerio hair kit.

"Schue pulled all the Glee kids. They're on their way."Santana said.

"I've run out of shampoo."Rachel called hesitantly.

"I've got some. I'll slip it under the door for you."Mercedes said. Quinn gestured for them to move from the door slightly.

"I don't think she's gonna be able to get the glue out. We're gonna have to cut her hair. Kurt, I'm assuming you'll be the best for that?" Quinn asked. Kurt shook his head.

"Tina for sure. We'll go hunt some scissors down now. This sucks. Poor Rachel."Kurt said. He and the girls left immediately.

"Guys, I want you to stand watch. Nobody but Glee gets in or out. They'll probably try again."Quinn ordered. The boys moved to the doors. Quinn knocked on the cubicle door.

"Rach, I have your clothes. How are you doing in there?"She asked.

"Um, it's coming off my body alright. I've used two bottles of shampoo. The glue isn't going anywhere. We're going to have to cut it off."Rachel said mournfully.

"Babe, it's not the end of the world. Take your time, ok?"Quinn replied. She walked out to the rest of the group.

"Puck, she's gonna be out of the shower soon. Get up there; she's going to want you over anyone else."Quinn said. Puck moved towards the stairs, and Quinn flipped her phone out.

Rachel walked out of the bathroom. Her skin was red raw and tender looking, she moved slowly with a towel over her shoulders to protect her clean clothes from the glue-y clumps. She saw her boyfriend and burst into tears. He wrapped her in his arms and hugged her tightly. He mumbled comfort to her, waiting for her tears to subside. She took a shuddering breath.

"I'm getting this over with."She said resolutely. She walked out to where the Gleeks were waiting.

"Just, do whatever you have to do. I'm putting my iPod in and pretending I'm not here."She said. She put her headphones in and flipped to a playlist entitled "Screw You." _Defying Gravity_ began to play and she swallowed a sob when she felt Tina snip off the first lock of her hair.

***

It wasn't as bad as Rachel imagined. The glue had only hit the length of her hair, so she now sported a style that sat just above her shoulders. Tina had managed a classic cut, and Brittany's skills with a blow drier and flat iron were unparalleled. Kurt's make up job was lovely. Rachel looked at her reflection and sighed.

"You hate it."Tina said.

"No, no! It's not that. You did an exquisite job. I just wish you hadn't had to. I really loved my long hair. It's just hair though, it will grow back."It was obvious Rachel was convincing herself more than anyone else.

"Rachel, I called your dads. They're having a meeting with Figgins now."Quinn said hesitantly.

"Why would you do that?"Rachel demanded.

"Sucking it up and ignoring it wasn't working. Puck bouncing his fist against their heads wasn't working either. They would have noticed something was up. They went too far Rachel."Quinn said. Rachel glared at her, before storming out of the auditorium and into Figgins's office. She could hear her daddy threatening a law suit from down the hall.

"Stop wasting your time. I will continue dealing with this the way I have been for over a year now. All that is going to happen is that they will feel antagonised, and they'll take that out on me. I'm coping perfectly well. Please, continue McKinley's policy of ignoring blatant bullying." Rachel snapped.

"Excuse me, but from what I'm hearing, my daughter is insinuating that not only has this bullying been happening for some time, but it has also been happening under your watch and you've done nothing to stop it. Is this correct?"Rachel's daddy demanded. Figgins began to bluster a response.

"Mr. Figgins attempted to curb harassment by taking the Glee Club photo from the Thunderclap because it would be graffitied. He's well aware of the bullying that has been occurring. However, I'm not a fool. I know it gets worse when I raise my head and draw attention to myself; kind of like I did today at the assembly you called. So unless my personal safety and the personal safety of each and every Glee Club member can be assured indefinitely by yours truly, I insist that you take no action that will lead to the Glee Club being further retaliated against."Rachel said.

"These actions have violated the behaviour contracts that several students who are responsible for these acts are on. Rest assured that action will be taken against the perpetrators."Figgins said. Rachel's dads nodded and discussed appropriate action to be taken, threatened several more forms of legal action before they left. Rachel gathered her things from the auditorium and left silently with her dad.

"Quinn, I'm not sure we made the right call. Rachel is seriously pissed."Puck said.

"You guys didn't make a call. I did. This needed to happen. The school has known about all the crap we've been taking for ages, and they've done nothing about it. We need to continue what started with Rachel's dads. Get each and every one of your parents here. Get them complaining as much as they can. Nothing we've done so far has worked; maybe parents complaining will. Finn, you need to buy me celery and then take me home."Quinn said firmly

***

_Song: Looking Up by Paramore (Brand New Eyes)_

**As a teacher, I have to say that the way bullying has been handled on the show is a joke. At least three teachers know about the crap that the Glee club is going through, and they have a legal duty of care to those students. I was actually kind of disgusted that Mr. Schue told Quinn she'd have friends to clean her off after getting slushied instead of doing something about the slushie-ing... I KNOW it's a tv show, but come on!**

**Reviews are crack to me... let me know what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

I wish uni papers were this easy to write...

Don't own, lets just share shall we?

***

Rachel accepted her parents fussing. They had the right to be upset. They had assumed they had a daughter who damaged her clothes frequently. They had found out the extend of the bullying that they had always assumed she experienced (she hadn't told them a thing since a boy that Quinn used to go to church with called her an abomination before the Lord in eighth grade) and they saw their newly short haired daughter in a new light. She'd endured more than they'd ever known for them, and for her love of the arts. They'd never been more proud.

They were also undeniably proud of their other daughter, Quinn (officially they were only her legal guardians, but minor technicalities such as DNA had never meant a great deal to Jesse and Malcolm Berry). Quinn had stepped up and put an end to the cycle that she played a major role in creating. She was being a leader. They were thrilled. Both their girls were turning out to be formidable human beings.

***

Rachel was staring at her ceiling when she felt her bed dip with someone's weight. Given that she hadn't heard footsteps down the hall, she knew exactly who it was.

"Quinn, I let you do the whole seethe and think thing. I'd really appreciate it if you allowed me the same privilege."Rachel said.

"I don't care that you're mad at me. I expected it, to be honest. Rachel, someone needed to stand up for you. They went too far. You shouldn't have to change being you because some tool thinks it's funny to pick on the theatre geek. Rach, I saw how defeated you looked in the choir room, and if you ever stop being the amazing person you are because of a few idiots, I'll dismember you myself. So I'm not sorry. Just so you know, every Glee kid getting their parent in tomorrow to complain about the bullying. So you don't have to like me very much right now, but no matter how much you hate it, or hate me, I did the right thing."Quinn stood and left the room.

***

Noah knocked on her doorframe.

"Hey baby. Figured you might want some company. Your dad said we have to keep the door open."He said. Rachel shrugged. She leaned against him when he sat down on the bed. She chose not to acknowledge the cuts on his knuckles.

"I have the right to be pissed with Quinn, don't I? There was a very good reason for not telling my dads about the slushies. It took us years to find somewhere to live where both my dads could get work. Daddy kept getting overlooked for tenure, and while we couldn't prove it, we knew it was because when he introduced his partner Jesse, people froze in shock when they realised it wasn't short for Jessica.

My parents have so much stacked up against them, but I know that they wouldn't hesitate to pack up and move if they knew the half of what I've gone through at school. They've gone without so much so they can live the way they choose, I can't ask them to give that up because I go to school with a few idiots who are occasionally mean to me. All that is going to happen is that the attacks will get worse for everyone in Glee. We both know that the school is going to be] totally ineffective at dealing with this." Rachel said. Noah sat with her quietly, fingers woven in her hair, thinking.

"Ok, don't freak. Slushie-ing used to give me a kick. I don't really know why. It sure didn't take you down a peg. It didn't really do anything, at least not to you. You never reacted. We eventually laid off the people who did. We kept attacking you because we wanted you to DO something. It's messed up, but whatever. They may have finally gotten their reaction. I sure hope they did. Karovsky is risking brain damage if I hit him again. I also put his number in the local paper for a fast, sexy dirty time for all those naughty boys out there." Rachel giggled at the thought of the closeted gay community of Lima calling Karovsky for sexy times.

"I refused to give you guys what you wanted. The first time you nailed me, I was too shocked to do anything. After that, I learnt to be prepared. Crying is a luxury I've gone without for a long time. Its only now that we're together I've indulged myself." Rachel sat up.

"I'm not telling you this because I want you to feel guilty, or because I want your sympathy or anything like that. I did react, just not in the way you ever imagined I would. I became rock solid. Emotions are scary. I left those for the stage, where I could have someone else's feelings, and not mine." Rachel said.

"Fuck babe. I don't get you. I make your life a living hell for how long, and now I'm lying on your bed? Why don't you hate me?" Noah asked.

"I won't lie to you Noah. I did hate you. And continuing to hate you would be so easy. I could be so easily be consumed by hatred and bitterness for you, and I don't want to be. That would be like me swallowing poison and expecting you to die. When it comes down to it, it takes too much work for me to hate you when all I really want to do is love you." Rachel said earnestly. She studied his face, and then realised what she said.

"I don't expect you to say it back, ok? But I'm saying it right now, I love you Noah Puckerman." She added. Noah sat up. He pulled Rachel towards him and kissed her.

"It's not that I don't. But I don't want to say it because you just did. But I so do Rach." Noah said urgently. Rachel gave him her megawatt smile and kissed him.

"By the way babe, I really like your hair." He said. Rachel pulled a face.

"Tina did an awesome job. But I'm going to get shot when I go to ballet. I need to wear my hair in a bun." Rachel said. At Noah's confused face, she pointed to a professional photo of her in a tutu.

"That's a bun. All my hair needs to be off my face like that for ballet. It's a girl thing." Rachel explained.

"Right. It's not like they're gonna kick you out though. You're way awesome." Noah said.

"You have no idea what qualifies a good dancer, do you?" Rachel asked.

"I know you looked the best in both the Regionals numbers. That's enough for me." He replied. Rachel was about to kiss him when there was a knock at her door. She looked up and saw her dad holding a pizza box.

"We got pizza for dinner sweetheart. We figured you'd be staying Noah, so we ordered for you too. Rachel, you need to think about talking to Quinn. I know you didn't want her to tell us, but it's done. She did the right thing, not the easy thing; kind of like you did before Sectionals." Rachel accepted the pizza box off him and sat down on her floor with Noah.

"He's right. I hate not being right." Rachel grumbled. She picked up a slice of pizza.

"I'll go talk to her. But I'm eating while this is hot." She said, taking a bite out of the pizza.

***

Rachel glared at Quinn's door. This failed. She knocked. Quinn opened the door.

"I wasn't expecting to see you." Quinn said. She stepped aside to let Rachel walk in.

"You did the right thing. I'm sure it wasn't easy either. I wanted to protect my dads. I'm not used to having people who want to look out for me. I'm sorry I got so pissy." Rachel blurted out.

"Thanks sweetie. Glad we're sorted." Quinn said. She rolled her top up and began to rub cocoa butter on her stomach. Rachel flopped onto Quinn's bed and began to flick through Quinn's copy of _What To Expect when You're Expecting_. She couldn't keep it in.

"I told Noah I love him." She said. Quinn gasped and sat down on the bed.

"Oh. Em. GEE! How? What did he say?" Quinn demanded.

"He asked me why I don't hate him. I told him that it took too much effort to hate him when I want to love him instead. He didn't say it back, but I told him that I didn't want him to say it just because I did. I know Noah; he isn't one for big speeches. The fact that he's here with busted up hands says enough for me." Rachel said.

"Where is he now? I haven't heard his car sputter to life recently." Quinn commented.

"He's downstairs with daddy watching football. He told me to fix this, cause he didn't want to deal with whining from both of us." Quinn shook her head.

"I don't know how you did it, but you tamed Noah Puckerman. Who would have thought there would be a way?" Quinn asked. Rachel laughed.

"I haven't done a thing. I don't want to train him, or mould him or whatever. I like him the way he is. He isn't a renovation project, he's a person. Getting into a relationship to 'fix' someone is totally unfair." Rachel said.

"Whatever. All I know is that Santana had to kick and scream to get Puck to say hello to her parents. Puck is hanging out with yours of his own free will. He's a different guy. Come on. I want food." Quinn and Rachel walked downstairs and attacked the refrigerator.

***

Rachel groaned. By far the worst thing about short hair is that you have to style it all the time. She sighed and began to attack the kinks with her flat iron. Feeling rather Parisian, Rachel pulled on a beret, and paired red lip gloss with her black and white striped shirt and high waisted skirt. She added a pair of kitten heels and walked downstairs.

"Bon jour ma petite!" Her dad said. She kissed his cheek.

"Salut papa." She replied. She poured them both a coffee. Rachel bit into a chocolate croissant as Quinn walked downstairs.

"All you need is a cigarette and the Eiffel tower in the background and you'd be the perfect European darling." Quinn commented. Rachel smiled.

"Merci ma chérie. I like dressing to a theme. The beret called to me." Rachel said.

"I swear, my boobs exploded overnight. None of my bras fit anymore, and I feel so very fat." Quinn said. She was quickly approaching her sixth month of pregnancy, and as much as she complained, she had a hot pregnant body.

"Quinn, you look awesome. You're glowing. Finn certainly isn't going to complain about bigger boobs, and you haven't put on a pound. You look like you have a beach ball under your clothes. Go grab one of my scarves and drape it. We can go shopping after school." Rachel said. Quinn waddled upstairs and emerged with a scarf wrapped delicately around her neck. Rachel sent Kurt a text as they walked out to Puck's car.

***

All the jocks avoided eye contact with the Gleeks. Rachel was calmly eating with Glee Club when Karovsky's girlfriend stormed up to her.

"You got him expelled? And half the hockey team got suspended! They can't play anymore! I hope you're satisfied, you freaky little bitch! I swear to Snooki I'm..."

"Going to kick my ass? Make me beg for mercy? Or will I be wishing I were never born? Which is it Bright Eyes; I don't have all day. And while you're at it, take a look around. You're in a room full of people! What can you possibly do that won't get you busted? Besides, the world is a happier place without those mentally underdeveloped savages dragging their knuckles around the school. Buh-bye now." Rachel snapped. She noticed Mr. Schue walk up (it was obvious he'd been severely reprimanded about the bullying situation, but it was also obvious that it wasn't entirely his fault no action had been taken).

"Is there a problem here ladies?" He asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Not at all Mr. Schue. I was just having a little heart to heart about the way the world is with Miss. It here. We're sorted, you can leave now." Rachel said

"Whatever Gleek. This is so not over." She snapped. The table burst into laughter.

"How dumb are you? Why would you threaten us with a teacher standing right next to us, you IDIOT!" Quinn snapped, head cheerleader face on. Mr. Schue tapped her on the shoulder and took her away for a talking to. Rachel turned back to the club.

"Ok, so daddy gave me his card. He said we should buy Quinn some stuff, and we should start looking at baby clothes and stuff for the nursery." Rachel said.

"seriously Rachel, I can't get over how chilled out your parents are about this. My parents would choke me." Santana said.

"Oh yeah, my mom said its cool to use my house for the baby shower." Mercedes said.

"I haven't planned a baby shower. I wasn't sure that I'd have one." Quinn said hesitantly.

"We know. This is the thing; Mercedes wants to be a party planner, so any excuse to have a shindig is a good one in her opinion." Tina said.

"And we want to throw you a baby shower." Mercedes added hastily.

"Really?" Quinn asked. Her eyes welled with tears.

"Sorry, it's the hormones." She added, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

"We'll meet at my car after school." Kurt said. The girls nodded their agreement.

***

They had updated Quinn's wardrobe, and made her turn bright red when being fitted for a bra (she'd gone up a cup size, and the assistant told her she was likely to jump up another size in the remaining months of her pregnancy).

"I wish my funbags would grow." Santana said enviously, looking at Quinn's rather spectacular rack.

"Oh no, you don't. I actually have to wear a fricken bra now." Quinn bemoaned.

They walked over to the bedding section.

"Ok, we need to talk colour scheme." Tina said.

"Well, my parents are redoing the attic to become a bedroom and nursery, so whatever we pick is how it gets painted." Rachel said.

"I don't want pink. I grew up on the inside of a cotton candy machine. It was unhealthy." Quinn said. Kurt looked at Rachel.

"I resent that! I redecorated before sectionals. My room is purple, with white bedding and furniture. I have a few coloured accents and that is it!" Rachel said. They looked over to see Brittany admiring a display.

"Its really pretty, right? I wish it came big enough to do my room." She said. She gestured to the pale purple bedspread, with dark purple, aqua and silver butterflies embroidered on in.

"Its gorgeous. We're using Rachel's old crib which is white, so it'll match perfectly." Quinn said. She flipped it over and saw the price.

"But we don't have to go buying right this second. I forgot to grab milk pads for my bra. I'll be back." She said quickly. Rachel followed after her. Quinn froze. In the newborn clothing section was Mrs. Fabray and Quinn's older sister, Jessica, one hand on her small bump, admiring baby clothes.

"Come on Quinn. Let's go get smoothies." Rachel said. Quinn shook her head firmly.

"I have nothing to be ashamed of." Quinn said. She walked into the department and began admiring clothes for the princess residing in her belly.

"Oh look at this! She'd be a little panda baby. Quinnie, we have to get it!" Rachel said. Quinn was bumped forward. She turned to see who had bumped into her. She made eye contact with her mother, who turned and walked away.

"Quinn, go put these on lay buy. We don't need to get them today." Rachel said. Quinn looked at her.

"Just go babe. I'll be there in a second." Rachel squared her shoulders and walked up to the Fabrays.

"Shame on you." She said. Mrs. Fabray looked outraged.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" She snapped.

"No. How dare you treat your flesh and blood like that. Are you really so afraid of your daughter's mistake that you would make a distinction between one grandchild and another? I'll say it again, shame on you. You should be proud of the daughter you raised in Quinn. She will be an exceptional mother, and dare I say it, one that is nothing like you. You disgust me." Rachel said coldly. She turned and walked away. She met the rest of the group at the lay buy counter.

"Ok, its time we got some hot chocolate. My treat." Rachel said.

***

Rachel walked out of dance class and flopped onto the floor. She looked up at her boyfriend, who was staring at her confusedly.

"I just got my ass handed to me." Rachel groaned. She sat up and removed her ballet shoes, cringing when her abused feet met the crisp air. She pulled on Uggs and a jacket. She leaned heavily on Noah as she walked to his car.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you don't want to stop for dinner?" He teased. Rachel's stomach growled. She pouted.

"What I would really like is a hot shower and a foot massage. Especially if the foot massage is going to come from my sexy beast of a boyfriend." Rachel said.

"I'm sure I can fit that into my busy schedule…but just because I love you" Noah replied.

"You do?" Rachel asked. Noah nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Course I do beautiful. Now stop distracting me and let me get you home."

***

"Babe, go get into the shower. I know my way around a kitchen, so in addition to a foot rub, you'll be getting a Noah Puckerman dinner, which is no small thing." He teased. Rachel smiled appreciatively and kissed him. She hobbled upstairs and Noah made his way into the kitchen. Quinn padded in.

"Daddy watched _MasterChef_ on Sunday and went on a cooking bender. There are tonnes of fresh food. Rachel's favourite is ravioli. There's some in the freezer. Pots and pans are there and you'll find pantry stuff in that cupboard, fruit and veg is in the refrigerator." Quinn directed. Noah moved around the kitchen pulling out equipment.

"Daddy?" He asked. Quinn shrugged.

"Malcolm and Jesse Berry have been far more loving toward me than my parents ever were. They're my legal guardians now, so why the heck not?" Quinn replied. Noah nodded. He salted the pot of hot water and concentrated on slicing vegetables. When the oil was hot, he added them to the pan, and then threw in some garlic to brown.

"You're good for each other. I've never seen either one of you so happy. Or so normal." Quinn said. Noah opened a can of tinned tomatoes and poured it into the pan. He added tomato paste, herbs, and a pinch of sugar.

"She won't take my crap. She knows what she wants, and she doesn't let anything get in her way." Noah said simply. He took the lid off the boiling pot and added the ravioli.

"This is where the crazy best friend act comes out. You break her heart, and turn back into the egotistical man whore I know so well; I will break your face. I will also do significant damage to other parts of your body that I'm sure you value very much. You will experience the full whoop ass of a pregnant chick. After I'm done doing that, I will hand your battered carcass over to Jimi, who seems like she can handle herself. I don't care that I'm carrying the fruit of your loins." Quinn said calmly. Noah swallowed. He was actually kind of scared of this puffed up, hormonally imbalanced version of Quinn. He nodded fervently.

"Excellent. You need to start a list of possible baby names. My child will not be named after a weather condition." Quinn said firmly. Noah nodded and drained the pasta. As he was serving up (Quinn insisted that as it smelt so good, she'd be playing a hobbit and having a second dinner), Rachel padded downstairs in a pair of cotton shorts and Noah's football jersey, drying her hair off with a towel.

"It smells good babe" she commented. She picked up a bowl and headed out to the living room. She took a bite and moaned.

"I think my mouth just had an orgasm. Baby, where did you learn to cook like this?" She asked.

"You met Mrs. McEwan. She's a retired chef. She used to baby sit me, and the only way she could keep me out of trouble was to drag me into the kitchen and teach me how to cook." Noah explained.

"You must have been a terror. This is freaking amazing." Rachel said. Rachel flipped on whatever mindless crap was on MTV and they watched it as they ate. Quinn took their bowls when they finished. She headed to the kitchen and returned with a carton of boysenberry ice cream and a few spoons.

"Ok gorgeous, give me a look at these banged up feet of yours." Noah said. Rachel gratefully put her feet on Noah's lap. She groaned with pleasure when his thumb came into contact with the ball of her foot. Rachel looked over at the doorframe.

"Hi dad. I got my butt kicked at dance tonight and I roped Noah into giving me a foot rub. He's a keeper. Most people are disgusted by my feet." Rachel said.

"No problem honey. I actually just wanted the ice cream." He replied. Quinn handed him the carton wordlessly (she was totally absorbed in _My Super Sweet Sixteenth)_.

"I'll see you in the morning. Noah, I'd be happy to loan you my box set of _Mad Max_ DVDs if you'd like." Jesse said.

"That would be awesome Mr. Berry. I'd be sure to bring over my _Bond _DVDs for you." Noah replied.

"Excellent." Jesse replied, and left the room. Noah swapped feet. Rachel yawned.

"You're gonna have to do this for me full time babe." Rachel said. Noah chuckled. Rachel closed her eyes and began to doze. She felt Noah pick her up.

"Ok baby, into bed." He whispered. Rachel curled against him for the trip upstairs. She smiled as he tucked the quilt around her. He lay next to her and stroked her cheek gently.

"_Good night, good night, sleep well and when you dream, dream of me, tonight"_ he sang gently in her ear.

"You watched _West Side Story._" Rachel murmured sleepily. Noah kissed the tip of her nose.

"I did. Good night beautiful. Sleep well, and I love you."

"I love you too" Rachel replied thickly.

***

Wow... so, this is long. I couldn't work out where to split it without it being too short… so whoo! You just get a long chapter!

I know the ending was majorly sappy, but I've wanted to use it for a while, so suck it up, cause I love sappy! 

We all know my feelings about reviews… just hit the button, or I'll work you in somehow and kill you…

Next up… the victory party!


	19. Chapter 19

**So, I'm updating instead of doing my directing assignment. I should feel bad, but I really don't!**

**Direct an episode of Glee? My background is in theatre but I'd love to! If I could do that, would I be writing fanfiction? **

***

The victory party was going quite well. Rachel's dads had insisted that all the parents of the Glee club kids come over for cocktails. They had also invited Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury. Kurt had nearly had a heart attack when they arrived together and Twitter was over capacity so he couldn't send out an update. It was all actually rather lovely.

Mr. Schuester was chatting away with Santana's parents in Spanish, Ms. Pillsbury and Tina's parents were mingling nicely. Puck was filled with a vague sense of dread when he saw his mom with Finn's mom and Rachel's dad. Artie's, Matt, Mike and Kurt's dads were discussing the football with Rachel's daddy, and Brittany's parents were getting along famously with Mercedes' folks. All seemed to be doing well.

Rachel noticed Arianne eyeing off Santana's little brother Carlos. Naomi and Tina's sister Anita went to school together, and were telling an epic story to Tina, Brittany, Quinn, and Santana. Mike and Mercedes were self appointed DJs for the night, and they were arguing about the best way to set up the sound equipment. Finn, Puck, Artie and Matt were avoiding Kurt trying to tidy their sideburns. Rachel had a tray in her hands, offering food as to her guests. She offered food to the girls.

"Oh yeah, San, if I know Jimi the way I do, she'll probably make an appearance sometime tonight." Rachel said.

"How do you know that?" Santana asked.

"Jimi has a sixth sense for parties. Especially if cute girls are going to be present." Rachel said. Santana accepted a mini pizza from Rachel's tray.

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Santana said. Rachel giggled.

"That, my friend, is a story for another time." Rachel said, before running off to the kitchen with her now empty tray.

Rachel was adding the finishing touches to the tray of lemon meringue pies Quinn made when the doorbell rang. Rachel wiped her hands on her apron and went to answer it.

"Whoa, Suzy Homemaker just got a whole lot more fuckable." Jimi teased. Rachel laughed.

"Dad and Daddy insisted we have everyone's parents over. They even invited my teachers." Rachel explained. Jimi pulled a face.

"Then my parents are heading to a B&B til tomorrow night." She added.

"Awesome. I'm gonna go out and say hello to everyone." Jimi said. Jimi knew Rachel's house as well as Rachel did, so she headed out and greeted Rachel's parents like her own family. Rachel headed out to observe the scene. She smiled when she felt a familiar arm drape around her shoulder.

"Hey babe" she said quietly.

"I hope you're not expecting the party to stay this tame after all the parents head off." Noah said. Rachel scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? I know you baby. I also know Jimi. Soon after my parents clear out for their getaway, some of Jimi's friends will turn up." Rachel said.

"She invited gatecrashers? Babe, that is so not kosher." Noah said. He instinctively flexed the arm not around Rachel's shoulder. Rachel shook her head.

"Don't you worry your pretty arms about it. Not friends like that. She invited Jim, Jack, Johnny Red, Johnny Black and Jose. Her favourite men." Rachel clarified.

"And I thought I'd be the only one to think of that. There's a case of Natty Light in my truck." Noah said. Rachel shook her head.

"You know, if you got over whatever it is you have about Jimi, you'd get along like a house on fire. She's practically the female you." Rachel said. Noah raised an eyebrow at her.

"You both play guitar, both drink like fish, use the word fuck more times than is healthy, she smokes, you smoked, and you both clearly have the same taste in women." Rachel said, gesturing to the close proximity in which Santana and Jimi were standing.

"So you've always been attracted to badasses?" Noah asked her. Rachel tilted her head up and nodded.

"Always." She replied, and she kissed him. Noah broke away.

"How exactly do you know so much about her taste in liquor?" Noah asked. Rachel grinned mischievously.

"That, baby, is a story for another time. Ooh, look, daddy wants me!" Rachel said. She darted over to her father. She hugged both Kurt's dad and Santana's parents as they left the house. She bounced on her toes as people continued to leave. She and Quinn were the polite hostesses until only their dads were left.

"Now, despite what you may think, adults are not complete idiots. We know exactly what you will be getting up to tonight. Be safe, every single one of you. Do not try and drive, there is ample room for all of you in the pool house. Rachel, please ensure the music is turned off at a reasonable hour, we've informed the police and the neighbours that we're having a party, but we don't want to give them reason to reconsider dropping their law suit." Rachel's dad said.

"Uncle Jesse, I am shocked you think we even need such warnings! Go enjoy your weekend, I'll be sure to keep Rachel in line." Jimi said.

"And that is exactly what we're afraid of Jemima. Don't you give me that sour faced look Missy; you know exactly why we're giving you this talk! Just be safe, and don't do anything you'd see on that ridiculous stunt show you like so much." Rachel's daddy added.

"Honestly Uncle Malcolm, we'll be fine. And the show is called Jackass." Jimi said. Rachel, Quinn and Jimi hugged them goodbye.

"Why are you getting a talking to anyway?" Artie asked. Jimi smirked. Rachel cut her off before she could start speaking.

"It's a long story. If you're a good boy, I might tell it to you some time." Rachel said. She heard her daddy's Range Rover back out of the garage.

"Quinn, normal food! Mike, Mercedes, tunage! Matty, I can trust you to light the tiki torches right?" Rachel commanded. Jimi and Puck headed out to their cars, both returning with armfuls of alcohol.

"Oh yeah, my sister hates peach vodka. I took it off her hands." Brittany said, pulling a large bottle from her bag.

"Bella, does she know you took it off her hands?" Kurt asked.

"Kurtie, my name is Brittany. Bella is a whiner. And is it important if she knows that I took it? She wasn't gonna drink it anyway." Brittany said.

"Totally insignificant detail. Can we crank some music please?" Jimi asked.

"Baby, are you gonna dance with me?" Rachel asked.

"Fuck no! I can't dance for shit!" Puck replied. Rachel pouted.

"Fine." She said. She ran over to the arguing DJs and requested a song. She grabbed Jimi's hand and they began to move to the heavy dance beat. When the chorus started Rachel and Jimi began to sing along loudly

_Parlez-vous Francais?__  
__Oui!__  
__Parlez-vous Francais?__  
__Oui!__  
__Si tu peux le parler allez tombez la chemise_

_Parlez-vous Francais?__  
__Oui!__  
__Parlez-vous Francais?__  
__Oui!__  
__Si tu peux le parler allez tombez la chemise_

The song ended and Mercedes and Mike instantly began to argue about what song they should play next.

"You guys are obviously not French students." Kurt commented. Jimi took a sip of her JD and coke.

"What makes you say that?" She asked.

"Do you have a clue of what you were just saying?" He asked. Rachel and Jimi looked at each other.

"Do you speak French? Yes! Do you speak French? Yes! If you speak French take off your shirt." They chanted together.

"Oh my gosh, do you remember those French exchange students? Those boys were bea-ut-i-ful!" Rachel said, fanning herself.

"You can have the guys. Those girls were fucking stunning." Jimi replied. They looked at the faces of the Glee club.

"It's a story for another time." Jimi explained.

"Wait, are you saying you're a straight down the line Beth Ditto fan?" Kurt asked. Jimi shrugged. Kurt gasped.

"No! Say something lesbionic!" He demanded.

"Home depot" Jimi shot back.

"KD Lang you are a lesbian!" Kurt crowed.

"Let's touch tummies." Jimi added. They both lifted their shirts and pressed their stomachs together.

"Whoa, way too much _Will and Grace_ for you two. Mercedes, Mike, iTunes has a shuffle feature for a reason! Just pick a playlist and leave it!" Quinn shouted. The Glee girls and Kurt began to giggle as they heard the opening strains of _Tik Tok_. They spread out and danced they way they did the night of the sleepover wars.

***

They had well and truly demolished the peach vodka. The music was awesome. Matt and Mike had had several dance offs, and even Artie had made an appearance on the dance floor.

"Baby, why won't you dance with me?" Rachel pouted. Puck shook his head. Rachel kissed him lingeringly.

"You are so mean to me," Rachel whimpered.

"Oh come off it babe. I can see you tearing it up just fine without me." He said.

"But I'd tear it up much better if you were with me. Come on baby, just one dance." Rachel placated, pouting and fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"Not gonna work baby." He said. He leaned over and kissed her. Jimi shouted something about going south.

"She means tequila shots. You'll have one of those with me won't you?" Rachel asked. She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the table where Jimi was pouring shots. They all salted their hands and grabbed a slice of lime.

"First one to hurl is a girl!" Matt shouted. They all downed the shot.

"How about we make this a little more interesting? Who's up for body shots?" Santana asked. Rachel looked around and grinned evilly.

"I'm in!" Jimi declared. Santana lay on the table and shimmied her top up. Jimi quickly downed the shot off her belly. Quinn slapped Finn for suggesting they try and balance a shot glass on her baby bump, and Artie was wheeling rather haphazardly after taking a shot off of Tina. One of the night's biggest shocks was Mercedes letting Matt have a shot off of her.

Rachel made eye contact with Puck after she took a shot off Jimi.

"Lay down Rach." He said. Rachel shook her hair off her face and lay on the table. She felt Noah's rough hands adjust the hanker chief top she was wearing and he ran his tongue across her clavicle and gently added salt. He kept his eyes on hers as he balanced the lime wedge on her lips. A tiny sigh of pleasure escaped Rachel's lips as she felt him do his shot. Jimi caught Rachel's eye and winked discreetly.

"Rachel drunk on tequila is fun. She needs to do another shot. Puck, get your ass up on the table." Jimi ordered. Rachel got up and swapped spots with Puck. Amid the cheers, Rachel straddled Puck's frame.

"You ready baby?" She asked teasingly as she undid the first few buttons of his shirt. He nodded.

"Born ready." Rachel licked a line up his chest.

"I like salt." She said. He accepted the lime in his mouth. Rachel licked up the salt, threw back her shot like it was second nature and stole the lime wedge with her teeth. Swallowing the flesh, Rachel's head perked up at the sounds blasting over the stereo. She flicked her hair and climbed off Puck, before moving to the dance floor.

"Rachel, its your song!" Finn (a total lightweight, it was sad, really) shouted. She began to bump and grind along with the beat

_Shawty had them apple bottom jeans (jeans)  
Boots with the fur (with the fur)  
The whole club was looking at her  
She hit the floor (she hit the floor)  
Next thing you know  
Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low  
Them baggy sweat pants  
And the Reebok's with the straps (with the straps)  
She turned around and gave that big booty a smack (hey)  
She hit the floor (she hit the floor)  
Next thing you know  
Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low_

"Damn Bee, where'd you learn to dance like that?" Mercedes asked.

"I did a musichall class in New York two summers ago. Music like this booty shakes the ballerina right out of me." Rachel said. She felt someone grab her wrist and spin her around.

"Tease!" Noah growled jokingly in her ear before kissing her.

"See why I kept asking you to dance?" Rachel asked. He nodded. She pulled him onto the dance floor with a smile. She was stoked. Noah was finally dancing with her, and he was nowhere near as bad as he claimed to be. Quite the opposite in fact. If what they said about dance being a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire they were damn near dangerous together.

"Wanna find a dark corner somewhere?" Noah whispered in her ear. She nodded fervently. Taking his hand, she led him to the far side of the pool house. They didn't get far before she pushed him against a wall and kissed him.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to do that." Rachel said. She kissed him again.

"I have an idea." He responded, twisting them so their positions were reversed, Rachel's jean clad leg hitched around his waist.

"You've been teasing me all damn night." Noah said. Rachel nodded.

"You're right. You're so right. I am a great, big, tease. But you asked for it." Rachel said. Noah looked at her.

"You're so beautiful. What did I do to deserve you?" He mused.

"Goes both ways baby. I'm gonna blow up your head by telling you how ruggedly handsome you are, but I don't care. You're supposed to tell the truth." Rachel said. She felt his thumbs brush against the skin above the waistband of her jeans.

"Enough talking." He mumbled. Rachel nodded before kissing him just below the ear. He threaded his hand into her hair and brought his lips to hers. His other hand snaked underneath her top and rested against her back.

"No bra babe? Are you trying to kill me?" He asked. Rachel bit her lip.

"Come to think of it, I may have missed some salt." He said. He felt Rachel's gasp of anticipation as his tongue trailed the hollow of her neck.

"You're gonna have to keep quiet gorgeous. This is a private show." He said. Rachel nodded. Noah continued his path down her chest. His hand brushed against the tie around Rachel's neck. She reached up and undid it. She bit her lip when he moved the fabric around her neck. It took every ounce of self-control she possessed to not make a sound when she felt the supremely talented tongue of Noah Puckerman against her breast. Before long, she had a fresh purple mark on her skin. He slowly pulled away and helped her adjust her clothing. Rachel shook away her dishevelled appearance.

"We should head back, shouldn't we?" She said. He nodded.

"But before we do…" He said, pulling her in for a kiss…

***

Rachel checked her phone when she and Noah finally rejoined the party.

"Guys, we gotta hit the music before the cops come around." She said. Mercedes gave her a thumb up from behind the desk and turned the music off.

"Sorry to ruin the fun guys." Rachel looked around. She was fairly certain that Santana and Jimi had found their own dark corner.

"Where are Finn and Quinn?" She asked.

"For a big guy, Finn sure can't hold his liquor. He ran for the bathroom twenty minutes ago. Its kinda pathetic." Artie said. Rachel cringed.

"Quinn's with him then?" she asked. Tina nodded.

"Just because we can't dance doesn't mean the party's over though, right?" Brittany asked.

"It doesn't have to. The pool house is all set up for movies." Rachel said. She tore open a bag of Doritos and grabbed the salsa.

"Got the munchies?" Puck teased. Rachel nodded. Most of the group headed inside, but Rachel elected to wait for Finn and Quinn outside, so Noah stayed with her. Rachel laughed when she saw Quinn lead a pale Finn out of the house. She gave him a bread roll and a glass of water and told him to take little bites and sips.

"Where is everyone?" Quinn asked.

"In the pool house watching a movie. Well, except Jimi and Santana. We don't actually know where they've disappeared to." Rachel said. Quinn laughed and bit into a cupcake.

"You ok Finn? I really hope you didn't empty your stomach on my nice white carpet." Rachel said. Finn shook his head.

"Made it to the bathroom. Only just though." He said.

"Yep. Then he ralphed up everything except the kitchen sink." Quinn added. Rachel and Noah both pulled a face.

"Tasty." Noah commented.

"Oh yeah, I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday afternoon. I figure you guys will want to come?" Quinn asked. They nodded. They turned to see Jimi and Santana sneaking into the pool house.

"You suck at discretion!" Rachel called out. Jimi flipped her the bird.

"Bite me, Barbara!" She called back.

"Tell me that isn't weird. Your ex girlfriend and your girlfriend's best friend who she used to fool around with fooling around. Be careful bro. That could end badly." Finn said with the wisdom that only those who are completely shitfaced ever attain.

"Shut up bro. You're drunk." Puck replied.

"Not true. I puked all the alcohol out." Finn corrected.

"Which makes you pathetic!" Puck argued. Brittany walked out of the pool house.

"We're all bored. We're gonna start a game of truth or dare." She said.

***

Rachel looked at her phone.

"Guys, its four am. I've been awake for nearly twenty-four hours. I need sleep." She said. Mercedes yawned loudly and nodded.

"I'm with Rachel." She said. Quinn had long since fallen asleep on the couch.

"So yeah. You have mattresses, and there's pillows and stuff. I can trust you beyond that, right?" Rachel asked. There was a collective yes. Finn gently woke Quinn up and Rachel grabbed Noah by the hand.

"Don't think you're getting away from me going koala on you." Rachel said, pulling him toward the door. They followed Finn and Quinn to the main house.

Rachel pushed her bedroom door open. She gratefully took off her heels.

"You'll find those sweatpants in the third drawer." Rachel said.

"You know me too well baby." He responded. Rachel walked into the bathroom to wash her face and change into a white nightdress.

"Don't worry baby, I'm not planning on throwing myself at you again." She said.

"Good, cause I'm not sure I'd be able to say no." Noah replied. Rachel lay down next to him.

"I had a dream about you." He said.

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Yep. It was the night of our Sitka Torah viewing of _Shindler's List. _Mom told me that she wanted me to date a Jewish girl. That night I dreamed you appeared in my room. You look freakily similar to that dream right now." He said. Rachel laughed.

"So you asked me out the first time because of a dream? How very Hebrew of you." Rachel teased. She rolled over and kissed him.

"Clearly, our dating was willed by God." Rachel deadpanned. Noah nodded. They lay quietly together for a few minutes. Noah yawned, and leaned over and turned the lamp off.

"Good night Noah, I love you." Rachel sighed.

"Love you too." He replied, kissing her hair.

***

**So, look out for Marinka's one shot, which needs info that we got from this chapter to make sense… I doubt very highly it will be up this week :P sorry guys, uni sucks!**

**Also, we're nearly at 200 reviews! Eep! Most exciting thing to ever happen to me!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I am SO sorry guys! I hate RL! Be comforted in the knowledge that I haven't started my middle schooling assignment because I've been writing this up! I have plenty of train time to draft, but very little time to type, so I know where we're headed, getting it to you is the challenge! Please forgive me?**

**Also, the reward one shots are up: we have Say It's Me That You Adore for 100 reviews, A Story for Another Time for 150 reviews, and Chicken Soup for 200 reviews :) **

**Don't own, and I don't even know when Glee is back on Aussie TV *cries***

***

Rachel cracked an eye open hesitantly. There was no pounding in her head. There were only two conclusions to be drawn. Either she was still drunk, or all the water she drank had helped. Given that her room wasn't swaying, she was going with the latter option. She looked over at Noah.

"How long have you been watching me sleep?" She asked. He pecked her forehead.

"Not long. You're funny when you sleep." He said.

"I am not!" She said, aghast. Noah laughed.

"I hate to tell you this baby, but you really are. You pull faces like you do when you're talking, but your lips don't move." He said. Rachel coloured.

"You know I don't believe you. You need your eyes checked Puckerman!" She teased. Noah growled playfully and flipped her onto her back. He nipped at her neckline playfully.

"Believe whatever you want to baby." He said. He kissed her firmly on the lips. Rachel's arms slid up around him, one hand playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, the other running her nails gently up his spine. They broke apart, gasping for breath.

"Breakfast?" Rachel asked. Noah nodded. They both headed downstairs and saw Quinn with a massive bowl in front of her.

"Afternoon lovebirds!" She said cheerfully. Finn groaned. Rachel tossed him a packet of painkillers.

"That's what you get when you play with the big kids! You'll live, I promise. Anyone else awake yet?" Rachel asked.

"I haven't checked yet. What would happen if you cooked pancakes on the barbeque?" Quinn asked. Rachel poured boiling water into her dad's epic sized coffee plunger.

"Disaster if you used the grill side. I can't see why the flat side wouldn't work though." She said. She poured twelve mugs of coffee. Picking one up, she headed to the pool house. She wasn't shocked to see Santana and Jimi spooning, or to see Tina's hair splayed across Artie's chest. Mike and Mercedes' close proximity was interesting, as was the closeness of Matt and Brittany. Kurt was sprawled down the middle of the room. Rachel saw the camera on the table. Setting the mug down, she took a snap. A few people sat up.

"Morning guys." Rachel said. There were several groans.

"To be honest with you, it's after 12. Quinn's making pancakes and there's hot coffee in the kitchen." Most of the group cleared out.

"Rach, Jimi is refusing to get up." Santana said. Rachel smirked, handing Santana the coffee mug. She pulled up the blanket on Jimi's feet. She ran her finger down the sole of her right foot. Jimi jerked up.

"Get the fuck away from me!" She gasped. She immediately hit Rachel with her pillow.

"Fuck you." She said.

"Well, not right now, but the offer is flattering. Just drink your coffee," She gestured for Santana to give Jimi the mug. Rachel walked up to the kitchen and took the second last cup. She smiled at Puck who was working the barbeque; Kurt was directing the set up of tables and chairs on the patio, and Quinn, Tina and Artie were slicing fruit. Rachel poured chocolate fudge into a jug, and microwaved it. She pulled the ice cream out of the freezer. Rachel had to laugh out loud when she saw Jimi attempt to light a cigarette; her hangover had apparently eliminated any hand-eye co-ordination she'd ever had. Rachel walked outside with a tray.

"It's a shame you don't have a kiss the cook apron. I could have used an excuse." She teased. Puck flipped the pancakes and kissed her.

"Like I need one to do that." He said. Ten minutes later, they were sitting down to breakfast. Jimi was still giving Rachel filthy looks as she drowned her pancakes in fudge. Rachel responded by blowing her a kiss as she served herself some strawberries.

"Quinn, these are the best pancakes I've ever tasted!" Kurt moaned.

"Mmm. What's the recipe?" Mercedes asked. Quinn delicately swallowed a bite before answering.

"I don't use one. It's flour, a few eggs, brown sugar and buttermilk. I just mix them til I get the right consistency." Quinn said.

A good half hour later, the Glee club had polished off the pancakes and was lounging in the sun.

"I know I should clean up. I know I should. But I just can't be bothered." Rachel said.

"You don't have to. You and Quinn put on an awesome night for us, and you fed us the next day, no way do you have to clean up. It may take a while to get the motivation up, but we'll clean up." Tina said.

"I could so use a nanna nap." Quinn sighed.

"Could one of you please stop your daughter from kicking me in the bladder?" she added, before running for the bathroom.

"Ok, let's just do this." Matt said heavily, beginning to collect plates.

"I feel bad." Rachel said, gathering coffee mugs. With that many people, cleaning up didn't take long. Artie looked at his phone.

"My dad is on his way." He said. Tina went and got their bags.

"I can't wait til I can drive."Artie commented.

"We recently bought a car with hand controls. They're designed for handicapped drivers." He explained at the quizzical faces. His phone buzzed.

"That's me and Tina out."He said. They exchanged goodbyes and Quinn walked them to the door.

"We better head out as well."Kurt said. He, Mercedes, and Brittany packed up and headed out. Matt and Mike followed soon after. Jimi and Santana both used Rachel's shower and headed out to the movies.

"Ok, I vote we watch a movie."Quinn said.

"Sounds good" Rachel agreed. After a few minutes arguing about the movie, they agreed on _50 First Dates_ and settled down to watch it.

***

A camera flash went off. Rachel sat up abruptly. She groaned when she saw her daddy in the doorway with a camera.

"That wasn't nice."She said thickly. Her daddy just chuckled.

"All evidence for your 21st sweetheart. Did you have a good night?"He asked. Rachel yawned and nodded.

"It was great, actually. We turned the music off at about one."Rachel said. She took a second to untangle herself from Noah's arms. She joined her parents in the kitchen and sat down and drank a pot of jasmine tea with them.

***

Noah walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. He saw Rachel sitting with her dads.

"My mom probably thinks I died. I'm gonna haul Finn's sorry ass into my car and take him home. I'll see you tomorrow babe."He said. Rachel nodded. She walked Noah and Finn to the car.

"See you soon baby."She said quietly. Noah looked at the time.

"Not if I don't get home soon. Mom is gonna shish kebab me. Love you."He replied. He pecked her forehead and drove off.

Rachel walked back into the house.

"Hey, Rachel, can I borrow your car? I'm gonna head to Mass tonight."Quinn said. Rachel nodded.

"You know you don't have to ask. The keys are on the hook."She replied.

"Rachie, because Quinn is going out, your dad and I thought we might have a night in together."Rachel smiled at her daddy.

"Absolutely."She replied. To be perfectly clear, Rachel one hundred percent did NOT resent Quinn moving in with her, but sometimes she did kind of miss having her parents to herself. Quinn came downstairs, showered and dressed.

"I'll probably have dinner with people after the service. I won't be home late."She said, before taking the keys off the hook and heading out.

***

Rachel and her parents had just finished off their traditional night in chocolate fondue dinner.

"Rachel, your father and I just want to know how very proud we are of you."Malcolm (daddy) said. Rachel smiled.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing" she said.

"You are an amazing person, Rachel Barbara Berry, and I'm not just saying this because you're my daughter. You're everything we hoped you'd become."Jesse (dad) said. Rachel looked at them with wet eyes.

"I'm really proud to be your daughter."She said quietly. It took seconds for her parents to wrap her in an embrace (she'd called them Rachel sandwiches as a kid) the same way that they'd been doing since she was little.

"Ok, we've done the Oprah stuff. Should we watch _The Sound of Music_?"Jesse asked. Rachel sniffled and nodded.

***

The Glee club sat in the choir room.

"Anyone know what we're doing here?"Kurt asked. He shot a look at Rachel.

"Don't look at me!"Rachel said. Mr. Schuester walked in.

"Ok, we all know that Nationals are coming. We need to fundraise to get on a flight there. To do that…"

"If the words bake sale pass your lips, I will cut you."Mercedes said seriously. Mr. Schue went to speak. Mercedes cut him off several times.

"I'm not kidding. If you seriously expect a bake sale to get us to Nationals, please, just don't say anything."Mercedes said. Mr. Schue was silent.

"Ok, we need the gym. We'll set it up in tables. People buy a seat, or they buy a table. We invite all the local businesses. We run it like a benefit. We feed them and entertain them. I got this Mr. Schue."Mercedes said firmly. The group nodded fervently.

"A Glee club benefit is much classier than a bake sale. It's also far more likely to get us to Nationals comfortably."Rachel pointed out.

"I'll have to clear it with Mr. Figgins, but it sounds fantastic. I'm glad to see you guys taking some initiative."Mr. Schue said. He dismissed the group.

"Whoa, before you go girls, I have invites to the baby shower. Boys, I can trust that these will get to your moms, right?"Mercedes asked. The boys nodded.

"We should probably go. The appointment is soon."Quinn said. They headed out to Finn's car, who headed out to the centre of Lima.

"Now, remember, I'm not having a sonogram today, it's just a checkup to make sure everything is going according to plan."Quinn said. Rachel was well versed in the progression of Quinn's pregnancy, but the boys both nodded solemnly. They walked into the doctor's office. The doctor started her workup.

"You've enrolled in Lamaze classes?"She asked. Rachel and Quinn nodded.

"We started last week. Rachel is my birthing partner."Quinn confirmed. They'd had to tell the whole sticky story when the four of them walked in. The doctor gave them a confused look before telling them it was their business how they chose to live.

"Ok, last thing I need to do is a pelvic exam. You know the drill Quinn, the paper gown is back there. Gentlemen, do you mind?"The doctor asked, gesturing to the door. They both stood up and left.

"Rachel, the rules are, you get to stay if you stay up near my ears."Quinn said firmly.

"No problem."Rachel replied. The exam was normal.

"Excuse me doctor, but I was doing some research and I saw something that basically suggested that mothers of adoptive children can trick their bodies into producing breast milk. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?"Rachel asked. The doctor nodded.

"What basically happens is that the adoptive mother is put on hormones in the months leading up to the adoption. With the exception of producing colostrum, you'd be able to breastfeed normally."The doctor explained. Rachel tapped a few notes into her iPhone.

"Is it a viable option for someone in my situation?"Rachel asked.

"I mean, obviously we'd have to discuss it more together Quinn, but if you'd let me, I'd love to have equal partnership in keeping Drizzle fed."Rachel said.

"You'd have to use an expressing pump every few house to stimulate your breasts into milk production. This isn't the most orthodox situation for hormone treatment like this, but I can't see any physiological reasons why you can't. I can write the prescription up for you, and you can fill them should you choose to proceed with the therapy. Rachel and Quinn nodded. The doctor left the room to file a few results.

"Look, I know I didn't talk to you about this first, but I wanted to check out the options before I brought it up to you. I didn't want to spring anything on you."Rachel said frantically. Quinn emerged, fully dressed from behind the curtain.

"I'm not freaking out Rach. It seems kind of amazing. This whole situation is so messy and crazy, why the heck shouldn't we take it the whole way? We should probably mention it to your dads, and maybe even her dads though."Quinn replied. The doctor returned with a pile of paperwork.

"Ok, literature for Rachel to read about the hormone therapy, as well as the prescriptions. You'll need to have regular checkups with me, just to ensure everything is going right. You should also be aware that the Ohio school board has been looking to attach a full time crèche to a local Western Ohio high school so that teenage mothers can continue their education. William McKinley won that bid. Apparently an Emma Pillsbury was instrumental in the fight."The doctor explained. Quinn's face lit up.

"Thank you very much doctor."Rachel said. They headed out to where the boys were impatiently waiting.

"It's all going well. Let's go grab some coffee, because Rachel and I have a few things we need to talk to you about."Quinn said. They sat down at a local café and ordered.

"Ok, we have good news, and a development we need to decide on. What do you want first?"Rachel asked. Like it was a question.

"McKinley is becoming one of those teen mom friendly schools!"Quinn announced.

"Awesome! That means you don't have to travel two towns over for school."Finn said excitedly. Quinn nodded.

"I might take a few weeks off after the birth though, just to get me and Driz into a routine and to heal up from any stitches or whatever."Quinn said. Finn and Noah looked at each other, confused. It took them a few seconds to realise where stitches may be necessary. They pulled twin faces of disgust.

"That brings us to the other thing to discuss. You guys know Quinn plans on breastfeeding, but we found out there's a way to get my body to make breast milk. Quinn is supportive of me doing it, and I would really like to, but it isn't up to just us. What do you two think?"Rachel asked.

"Rachel, you and I both said we were on the outside looking in. Rach, if this is how you can get inside, you should do it. I vote yes."Finn said simply. Rachel smiled.

"Thanks Finn. Noah, do you have anything you'd like to say?"Rachel asked. Noah looked up from his coffee cup.

"I can't believe this whole situation. I really can't. I get my baby girl, and I get to share her with the people I care most about. Rach, I still can't believe you're willing to jeopardise everything you've worked so hard to achieve for someone you haven't even met. No chance I'd ever stand in your way if you really want to do this."He said. Rachel reached over and squeezed his hand.

"So, I guess we need to hit the pharmacist on the way home."

***

**I recently got involved with the Support Stacie Auctions. Basically, one of our own, Stacie, or truelovepooh, has been diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer and needs financial support for medical bills, so I've offered to auction off a fic to help. Please support the cause guys, and keep Stacie in your thoughts and prayers! **

**On a lighter note, Sassy26 and I have been tweeting, and we've decided that we need to get a Puckleberry trending topic. Everybody on Twitter, get on there and trend #puckleberryREPRESENT (spell it that way, so we don't get confused :P), and those without Twitter, get Twitter, and trend it! Also, check out Sassy's **_**Be My Shelter?**_** If you haven't already, its freaking amazing!**

**If you follow me I'll follow you back! Twitter . com / redlipsticklove**


	21. Chapter 21

**Because I can't update as frequently, I'm trying to make the updates longer!**

**Also, when I mention **_**Defying Gravity**_**, I'm referring to the version I wrote before **_**Wheels **_**was on TV (I really hated the way they did it on the show, and if you'd like the full version of my rant, please let me know) **

**Also, I made the executive decision that Tina is a Tim Burton fan… go with it :) **

**If I owned Glee I'd pay someone to do my uni assignments…hahahahahah **

***

Rachel and Quinn checked their appearances in the mirror. They were both wearing dresses for their baby shower tea party.

"The only part I'm not looking forward to today is the free for all on my belly." Quinn said. Rachel tugged at the neckline of her maxi dress. For the first time in her life she actually had to worry about her cleavage.

"Oh would you relax! You get the pregnant glow without actually having to get fat! Embrace it; you've never looked this good!" Quinn said.

"You both look beautiful girls. Now let's move! The guests of honour have to be there on time!" Jesse said. Quinn and Rachel hustled out the door and into the car. It only took a few minutes to get to Mercedes' house.

"You girls have fun. Call me when you're ready to get picked up!" Jesse said. They waved and headed inside. There were purple and white balloons everywhere. There were several _Its a Girl_ signs on the walls.

"Hey girls!" Mercedes called out. She headed over and hugged both of them.

"Mercedes, you've found your calling. This looks amazing!" Rachel said. There were lengths of purple and white chiffon hanging from the roof, and fairy lights were twinkling discreetly around the room. Any spare table space was decorated with tea light candles.

"I got a Polaroid camera so we can take photos of the day. Come take a seat." The girls sat down with Brittany and Tina and their moms and Anita; Brittany looking gorgeous in her yellow dress from the girls mash up, Tina dressed in a replica of the teapot dress from the new Alice in Wonderland movie.

"You both look lovely." Rachel said. They looked over to see Deborah and Naomi Puckerman and Carole Hudson had arrived, and was chatting politely with Mrs. Jones.

"Hi Deborah" Rachel said, standing up to hug her.

"Hey sweetheart, Noah told me all about the decision you made. It's very honourable. You look beautiful." She said quietly. She moved to hug Quinn, whom she'd only recently started to warm up to. Rachel smiled at Mrs. Hudson.

"It's fantastic to see you again. Quinn and I really appreciate your coming." Rachel said sincerely.

"I don't like what Quinn did, I really don't, but I know exactly why she did it. Of course I came; I gotta support the moms of my granddaughter." She replied. One by one, everyone arrived. All the Glee moms were invited, as well as the Glee girls, Kurt, Anita, Naomi, Arianne and Ms. Pillsbury.

"Ok, please come and take your seats. High tea is ready." Mercedes said. They headed to the table and saw their names written on place cards written in calligraphy.

"Excuse me Rachel and Quinn. After the baby is born can you please let me bring her in for show and tell? Nobody believes that I'm gonna be an aunt before I'm ten, and I'm sure a real live baby will be way cooler than Bobby Campbell's dumb frog anyway." Naomi said seriously.

"I think it's very necessary that she comes in for show and tell." Quinn said. She fist bumped Naomi lightly and sipped on her orange juice.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Arianne asked.

"We've made a short list of possible names, but we won't decide until we meet her." Rachel said. Quinn stood up.

"I'd just like to take a moment to thank you all for the baby shower. It's more than I ever could have imagined. I'd just like to say a very heartfelt thank you to Ms. Pillsbury; because of her advocating for girls in my situation, I'm going to be able to continue my education at McKinley." Quinn said. She raised her orange juice for a toast.

***

It had been a lovely day. They'd played games, eaten copious amounts of junk food, and there was now a competition running for the day Quinn would deliver as well as for the weight of the baby. People started to clear out, so Rachel called her dad and asked him to come pick her and Quinn up.

"Thank you so much for everything Mercedes! It was the best afternoon!" Rachel said. Mercedes helped them load the trunk with their gifts and waved as they drove off.

"I just have to make a detour to pick up some paper for your daddy." Jesse said, before driving into Lima's town centre. He spent a good fifteen minutes in the stationery store before finally returning.

"Sorry girls. I couldn't remember the brand we normally use and there are just so many paper options these days." He said. Rachel shook her head. He was refusing to meet her eye. There was more to his paper scenario than he was letting on. She was content to ignore whatever he had going on. He pulled up at the house.

"You girls go on in and head into the living room," He said. They walked in and saw Finn and Noah waiting there, looking confused.

"Do you guys have any idea of what is going on?" Quinn asked. They both shook their heads.

"Ok, you need to put on these blindfolds please." Malcolm said. Rachel looked at Malcolm dubiously and put it on. They were led gently out of the room.

"Ok, you can open your eyes." The four of them removed their blindfolds.

"SURPRISE!" The whole Glee Club, as well as Deborah, Carole, Naomi, Mr. Schue, and Ms. Pillsbury were there.

"What is this?" Quinn asked.

"When we built the pool house, we built it so that we'd have plenty of room if anybody ever needed a place to stay. We want you four to have it." Jesse explained.

"Your dad mentioned it me in passing at the victory party, and Kurt approached me about buying some bedroom stuff for the baby as a club, it turned into all of this." He said. The entire room had been decorated. Rachel's old crib sat to the side; set up with the Manchester that Quinn had seen while they'd been shopping. Finn's old rocking chair was in the room, as well as the change table that Deborah had used for Noah and Naomi. Quinn's old teddy that she'd brought with her from her parents house was on the rocking chair. There was a mural of an enchanted forest painted across the back wall.

"Who did that? It's beautiful!" Rachel said. Tina raised her hand.

"This is way too much! You can't be serious." Noah said hesitantly.

"We want you guys to have the best possible start in life. You won't have to worry about rent, and it means you'll be able to finish school and get out of this town someday." Deborah said. Quinn and Rachel were both crying silently.

"Thank you" Quinn managed to gasp out, before throwing herself at her dads. They exchanged hugs with the whole room.

"Quinn, Rach, can you open your presents? I cry any more I'm gonna look like a raccoon." Kurt said. It wasn't long until they were seated in the main living area of the pool house, surrounded by gifts. Artie had nominated himself as gift recorder for thank you notes. Rachel opened the first card.

"Mercedes, you and your mom gave us a fabulous afternoon, you don't have to give us a gift as well." Rachel said.

"Oh, just open it!" Mercedes replied. They tore back the paper to reveal a gorgeous velveteen rabbit and a matching jumpsuit, as well as baby bath lotion.

"Oh, that is so CUTE! And it's big! She can wear it her first winter!" Quinn said. Brittany and her mom bought baby bath towels, a baby bag and several picture books. Kurt had gone nuts in the baby girl department, buying clothes in all shapes and sizes (he claimed he wanted to keep her well dressed and uninfluenced by Rachel for as long as he could).

Malcolm brought in boxes of Chinese as Quinn opened an envelope. Her jaw dropped.

"This is from Jimi. She said she's sorry she couldn't make it today, and that her gift is that she's paid for diapers and all the other stuff we need until Drizzle is two! Oh my goodness! That is so generous!" Quinn said. She carefully tucked away the card. After a pit stop for stir-fry, they moved onto the gift from Carole, Deborah and Naomi.

"Oh my gosh! We were looking at this one!" Rachel said. It was a pram, with two matching baby carriers (a sling for when she was tiny, and then an upright carrier for when she could support her neck). Matt and Mike's moms had thrown in to get a baby car seat, and Santana and her mom had bought a breastfeeding pillow, as well as several ointments for mom and baby in that time frame, and they had gotten a Jolly Jumper, which was basically a spring that attached to the roof with a seat for when Drizzle was about 8 months old.

Tina had created a photo album for as far back in the pregnancy as she could manage. Tina's mom had added a voucher for the local maternity store for Quinn, as well as several bibs and baby underclothes. Rachel peeled back the wrapping on the present from Artie's mom and Arianne. They had gotten Drizzle at least twenty onesies in a variety of sizes, and a baby bouncer.

They moved to the present from Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury. They had gotten a purifier for pacifiers, the most stunning baby dress they'd ever seen, and a candid shot taken from a Glee rehearsal, with all four parents with their hands on Quinn's belly.

"Thank you all so much! This is amazing. We appreciate it more than we can say." Rachel said. They spent the rest of the night eating Chinese and hanging out.

***

The benefit was tonight. They had roped the junior high's Glee club into serving food (thank you Arianne) and Mercedes had sweet-talked her way into getting food at pretty much cost price. Ticket sales alone had already covered flights and basic accommodation in once they got to Napa, and they had decided that any money they made would be used to bump up their accommodation to a nicer place, and then the rest would be put into a savings fund for the Glee club.

Rachel was in the dressing room, trying on dress after dress. She couldn't get anything to fit. Mercedes and Kurt had nearly had a heart attack when they realised Rachel's new and improved chest meant that she was risking indecent exposure in her costumes (her dance teacher had thrown a similar fit), and they'd busted their butts fixing the group costumes to fit her.

Bra shopping with Deborah the week before had been interesting. The shop assistant had been nice as pie until she realised that Rachel needed to be fitted for maternity bras. Rachel and Quinn had encouraged all the Glee girls into a running boycott of that particular lingerie store. Rachel groaned and pulled on one of Tina's dresses. Kurt shook his head.

"Why do they have to be so MASSIVE?" Rachel groaned.

"They're massive because God loves me." Puck said. He walked in and hung up a costume bag. Rachel glared at him playfully. Santana went through the stack of dresses she bought.

"Oh, Rach, try this one!" Santana said. She pulled out a dark grey dress with a feathered bottom. Rachel pulled it on. It fit her perfectly.

"Just keep it. It looks better on you anyway." Santana said. Rachel smiled and thanked her.

***

They were doing the first few numbers in their outfits from Sectionals. Rachel smiled politely as she served coffee to a group of lawyers whom Matt had approached with a ticket book (he'd sold two tables, so that was way awesome). Eyeing the time, she handed the tray she was holding to one of the junior high kids and took off her apron. They'd set the room up so that they could use the seating that the gym provided as part of their stage. The opening number had been chosen because it combined the traditional song choice of a Glee club with the feeling of New Directions, as well as giving off their personalities.

Rachel walked up the tiered seating and took a seat. She started thumbing through the sheet music she'd placed up there. She couldn't remember the name of the acting technique, but basically what happens is each of the actors move onstage before the starting of the show and start to behave as their characters would. As they were playing themselves, this would be fairly easy. One by one, each Glee member joined. Artie tuned his guitar, Brittany stretched. Rachel started playing with her phone as she saw the house lights go down. She felt the stage lights warm her face. She continued what she was doing. Rachel slid her legs off the side of the seating and leaned her head against the railing to look longingly at the boys as Artie played the opening chords of the song. She began to sing

_In the midst of this nothing. This miss of a life.  
Still there's this wanting to see you go by._

Tina got up and sat in the same fashion next to her

_It's almost like lovin'. Sad as that is._

Mercedes and Quinn came and joined them, and Mercedes sang

_May not be cool, but it's so where I live.  
_

Quinn stood and poked her head over the railing as Santana and Brittany walked over to the clump when she took her solo

_It's like I'm your lover or more like your ghost.  
I spend the day wondering what you do, where you go.  
_

Mercedes kneeled up

_I try and just kick it but what can I do.  
We've all got our junk, and my junk is you._

The girls moved to a stair each and stood hanging over the banister as they sang the chorus

_See us, winter walking after a storm.  
It's chill in the wind but it's warm in your arms.  
We stop, all snow blind, may not be true.  
We've all got our junk, and my junk is you._

The girls moved to sit together and to sneak glances at the boys as the Artie began to sing

**Well, you****'****ll have to excuse me, I know it****'****s so off.  
I love when you do stuff that****'****s rude and so wrong**

Mike stood on a table and faced towards the stairs,

**I go up to my room, turn the stereo on****,****  
Shoot up some you, and the you is some song.**

The girls leaned back away facing the audience and began to sway as Mercedes took the lead

_I lie back just driftin' and play out these scenes  
I ride on the rush of all the hopes and the dreams._

They stopped as Quinn stood up and sang

_I May be neglecting the things I should do.  
But we've all got our junk, and my junk is you._

Both groups stood up and began to move towards each other slowly

_**See we still keep talkin' after you're gone.  
You're still with me then feels so good in my arms.  
They say you go blind, maybe it's true.  
We've all got our junk, and my junk is you.**_

It's like we stop time. What can I do?  
We've all got our junk, and my junk is you.

They each met up with a partner and began to interact as they sang the final lines

_**My junk is you.  
My junk is you.  
You. You. You.**_

None of them could help the wide grins that spread across their faces at the applause. They quickly moved into their positions for _Don't Stop Believing._ They smashed out three more group numbers before leaving Artie onstage to sing his version of _Hey There Delilah_. The girls changed into their yellow dresses for their mashup. They performed, and Matt and Mike filled in time with a dance off. Brittany blew them kisses before walking on stage in a top hat and tails, accompanied by a chair to perform _Hey Big Spender. _Soon after they headed out for another group number. Mercedes smashed _I'm Telling You _and Kurt did MJ's memory proud with _Rockin' Robin_. Rachel and Quinn took the stage to sing _For Good, _Rachel leaving Quinn to her tear educing solo of _The Winner Takes It All _by ABBA (Mr. Schue had suggested _Papa Don't Preach_ may not be the best song choice). Rachel smiled when she heard Finn singing _I'll Stand By You _and they ran onstage to close the first act with _Viva La Vida._

"We are KILLING it!" Mercedes shouted backstage. They all cheered. Rachel checked the set list and slipped into her _Proud Mary _costume. They rolled onstage and performed it to a standing ovation. Santana slipped off and ran back on with a Selina song as her solo. Matt covered a roof raising Usher song. Rachel walked on stage. Her rendition of _Don't Rain on My Parade _was perfect. Looking over at the wings, she noticed someone gesture frantically for her to keep singing. She nodded discreetly. She whispered something to the band before moving to the grand piano (which had been a bitch and a half to move around the school).

"This isn't exactly what most people expect when they see me, but I like to keep people guessing" Rachel said. She heard the band play the intro of the song and she began to play.

_So close, no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trusting who we are  
and nothing else matters_

Never opened myself this way  
Life is ours, we live it our way  
All these words I don't just say  
and nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you  
Every day for us something new  
Open mind for a different view  
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they do  
never cared for what they know  
but I know

So close, no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trusting who we are  
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they do  
never cared for what they know  
but I know

Never opened myself this way  
Life is ours, we live it our way  
All these words I don't just say

Trust I seek and I find in you  
Every day for us, something new  
Open mind for a different view  
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they say  
never cared for games they play  
never cared for what they do  
never cared for what they know  
and I know

So close, no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trusting who we are  
No, nothing else matters

Rachel smiled as she felt the music wash over her. Kurt joined her onstage to sing _Defying Gravity_. As they walked offstage Tina walked out in her Red Alice in Wonderland dress to reclaim the Alice song from Avril Lavigne's deathly throat. Rachel knew exactly what went wrong. Tina needed to be pinned into her dress.

Artie and Mercedes did an old school blues duet. Rachel really didn't appreciate the way she was dragged to the wings by Kurt and Quinn when she was half dressed. She softened when she heard the song Noah was singing

_Hey where did we go,  
Days when the rains came  
Down in the hollow,  
Playin' a new game,  
Laughing and a running hey, hey  
Skipping and a jumping  
In the misty morning fog with  
Our hearts a thumpin' and you  
My brown eyed girl,  
You my brown eyed girl._

Whatever happened  
To Tuesday and so slow  
Going down the old mine  
With a transistor radio  
Standing in the sunlight laughing,  
Hiding behind a rainbow's wall,  
Slipping and sliding  
All along the water fall, with you  
My brown eyed girl,  
You my brown eyed girl.

Do you remember when we used to sing,  
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da

So hard to find my way,  
Now that I'm all on my own.  
I saw you just the other day,  
My how you have grown,  
Cast my memory back there, Lord  
Sometime I'm overcome thinking 'bout  
Making love in the green grass  
Behind the stadium with you  
My brown eyed girl  
You my brown eyed girl

Do you remember when we used to sing  
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da.

Rachel grabbed him and kissed him when he got offstage and they were safely hidden in the wings.

"You know I was talking about Nay right?" He whispered. Rachel shoved him.

"You and I both know that Nay has green eyes. Also, read the lyrics perve!" Rachel whispered back. Mike got a surprising round of applause for his performance of the original songs from _The Hangover_. Noah went onstage to perform the guys mashup. Rachel ran back to the change room and finished changing for the last two numbers. They closed with the Rolling Stones and then _Higher Ground._

Rachel fell to the ground, adrenaline coursing through her veins. They ran backstage as Mr. Schue took to the stage, giving an inspiring speech about why the audience should be donating to Glee club.

***

Changed back into their normal clothes, the Glee club headed out to mingle with Lima's elite.

"Excuse me Miss, I have to tell you what a pleasure it was to see you kids performing tonight. I certainly hope my donation helps to getting you far in your next competition. If you don't mind me saying, you're far better than Barbara at her own song." Rachel smiled at the older lady who had stopped her.

"Thank you very much ma'am! Every little bit helps, and we're certainly hoping to do our best in Napa. I'll keep that Barbara comment to myself." She replied, winking slightly. She turned to speak to a woman whom she vaguely recognised from Temple and thanked her for coming.

***

The gym was back to its usual splendour quickly. Mr. Schue got them to sit down before they left.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to announce that we made close to $20 000 tonight! Congratulations!" he said.

"This means we're upgrading our accommodation, right?" Quinn asked. Mr. Schue nodded fervently.

***

**Ok, I tried to keep the staging talk to a minimum, but I know EXACTLY how I'd stage **_**My Junk**_** and it was really hard to translate it onto the page. Also, Rachel's dress is the one she wore to the Grammys.**

**Nationals are next… can anyone give me a suggestion of how long a Lima-California flight is, and are they on different time zones? (I plead ignorance!)**

**Also, I'm kinda looking forward to Jesse St. James! I feel like a bit of a bitch for my evil version of Jon's character, (Nathan, duh). I'm excited for St. Berry, Lea and Jon don't seem like brother and sister; however, I think Ingrid is a way cooler name than Shelby.**

**Also, I hear rumours of a Mercedes/Puck thing…aka MUCK… join in with me, Ryan Murphy, what the fuck are you thinking? Its freaking vile man! Please join me with your indignation!**

**Join the Puckleberry love on Twitter. Chatting with Glee Twits seriously makes my day! #youguysrockmyworld**

**Reviews=crack!**


	22. Chapter 22

I figured that two shorter updates were better than one epic one that takes longer! Hope you enjoy!

Don't own!

***

"You know how sorry we are that we can't come, right?" Malcolm asked for the third time. Rachel sighed and nodded.

"Yes, daddy, we know. We'll be fine, I promise. And if the baby starts coming I'll cross my legs until I get back to Lima." Quinn said good-naturedly. She kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly. Rachel followed suit. Her daddy was really overreacting about a trip that wasn't even a week long.

"Ok, guys, we need to move now so we can get on the flight." Mr. Schue called out. Rachel and Quinn waved to Malcolm before linking arms and heading off to board. Their morning flight was reasonably empty and they would arrive in Napa in several hours time. Rachel smiled at Noah and settled herself against him to watch the in flight movie.

***

"Do not make us regret this. When I upgraded the hotel rooms, I couldn't find anywhere that had single beds that wasn't already booked out because of the comp. Ms. Pillsbury and I trust you to be responsible here." Mr. Schue said seriously. They had just checked into their hotel and Mr. Schue was handing out room keys, and letting them work out their own bedroom arrangements.

"Ok, so, this shouldn't be too hard. Puck and Rachel, Finn and Quinn, and Artie and Tina." Santana said.

"Mike and Mercedes, Cedes, get that look off your face, you'll thank me later, Britt and Matt, and San and I. Us raging homos have to stick together." Kurt said. The group nodded and took their keys, noting who was staying in which number room.

The motel was fancy enough to have bellboys, so Rachel slipped him a generous tip as he opened their door. This hotel was NICE! Rachel instantly discarded her shoes and felt her sock covered feet sink into the carpet.

"We have a mini bar and a Jacuzzi. This place is AWESOME!" Noah declared. Rachel smiled at him from the plush bed. She patted the space next to her. Rachel leaned over and kissed him. He responded enthusiastically. In between him selling his truck for a more practical car (one that could hold a baby seat), and lining up a job for after graduation as a labourer (it was a stepping stone until he could get into college to study architecture); they really hadn't had much time to themselves. Rachel planted herself firmly on his lap, teasing the sensitive spot near his ear. Noah rolled them over and studied her face intently.

"I love you." He said simply. Rachel pecked his lips lightly.

"I'm ready." She said shyly. Noah gently brushed a stray hair off her face.

"You're sure?" He asked. She nodded. He placed a lingering kiss to her lips and slowly removed one of her knee high socks…

***

Rachel studied her boyfriend's sleeping face and didn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. They were in their own little bubble, and she didn't want to leave it. She closed her eyes and committed the deep peace in her bones to memory, relying on her emotional recall to bring this feeling back when she was backstage tomorrow. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She hadn't had room for her dressing gown, so she wrapped herself in the discarded sheet of the bed and walked out on the balcony. She sighed when she saw the sunset over the vineyard. She sipped at her green tea and absorbed the tranquillity from the air. She smiled when Noah joined her.

"Hey baby." She said quietly. She moved over on the love seat. He sat down next to her. Rachel discarded the empty teacup and curled against him.

"It's beautiful isn't it? I'd love to live on a vineyard someday." She commented. She looked up at him.

"Noah, look at me." She commanded quietly.

"I love you. That was everything I wanted my first time with you to be." She told him firmly. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips. His face softened.

"I knew I didn't have anything to worry about." He said. Rachel rolled her eyes at his smirk.

"We have to meet everyone for dinner soon. I should shower." Rachel said. She got up and walked inside. She shook her head. He could be so oblivious sometimes. She dropped the sheet.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

***

Rachel and Noah were the last ones to head down to the lobby. Rachel smiled sheepishly at the group. They headed into the hotel's Italian restaurant and took their seats. The service seemed good. They ordered quickly. Rachel was chatting away when she felt Quinn's hand on her shoulder.

"Bathroom." She said sweetly before dragging her away.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" Quinn asked her once they were in the confines of the ladies room. The door swung open to reveal the Glee girls and Kurt.

"He sexed you up. Don't try and deny it sugar, it is written all over your face." Santana stated. Rachel sighed.

"I guess there's no point telling you that it's my private life and I don't particularly want to share the details?" She asked.

"None what so ever." Kurt replied.

"Fine. Yes he did." Rachel said. Girly squeals echoed off the tiles. Rachel caught a glance at Quinn's face and suppressed the twinge in her chest. Rachel pushed her way out of the bathroom. She headed back to the table and put on her happy face as she bit into her bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

"You're not ok, are you baby?" Noah asked her. Rachel shook her head.

"It's nothing to do with you. I think Quinn is upset that I told all the girls. I think she expected to hear it first." Rachel explained quietly. Noah kissed her cheek.

"Don't stress beautiful. There's nothing you can do right now. Talk to her tonight." He said. Rachel nodded. She put on her 'I'm fine' face and chatted animatedly.

"Rachel Berry! That pizza has cheese on it! You're gonna get all slimy!" Mike called out. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"It's goat's cheese Mike. It doesn't have any lactose in it." She replied. As if she'd get caught out on a rookie mistake like that. After the bill had been fixed up, Rachel attempted to link arms with Quinn and say something to her, but Quinn shrugged her off and went and spoke to Artie.

Rachel quickly made her way upstairs. She gave herself five minutes in the bathroom to be hurt. She wiped her eyes and walked out. She saw Noah on the bed.

"Go talk to her baby. You need to sort this out fast. Tomorrow will suck if you're all chick pissy with each other." He said. Rachel ran a hand through her hair and straightened her skirt. She snagged a room key and strode down the hallway. She rapped her knuckles against the door neatly.

"Ok Finn, you need to go play with Noah." Rachel said. She walked into the room and she took a deep breath as the she heard the door shut.

"So, I slept with Noah. It was mind blowing. I felt beautiful, and important and loved, and everything I didn't feel with Nathan." Rachel said. Quinn looked at her.

"Are you just telling me this because I'm upset with you?" Quinn asked. Rachel shook her head.

"No, not at all. You're gonna have to forgive me Quinn, I've never had anyone to do this with before. I wanted to tell you before I told anyone else, but it didn't work out that way. I really couldn't lie to the girls so that you could hear the big news before anyone else. It just happened to work out that way." Rachel said.

"You still could have told me." Quinn said stubbornly.

"Like what, text you with the horny details the second he rolled off me? I don't see why this is such a big deal Quinn. I didn't keep anything from you, and it's not like I'm recounting a totally unfamiliar experience to you!" Rachel snapped. She had no idea where these feelings were coming from.

"So you're jealous of my drunken tryst in the tray of Puck's car? Let me tell you Rachel, I didn't feel beautiful, or important, or loved. I got to feel ashamed as I searched for my underwear and prayed that Finn wouldn't find out what a slut I'd been. Are you really jealous of that?" Quinn asked.

"And my first time was so perfect? I may as well have been a freaking knot in the wall when I lost my virginity; so don't pretend like you're the only person to have a bad sexual experience. God Quinn, you are having his baby. You have a connection with him that I will never have. I'm not jealous of the circumstances, I'm jealous that you have something that I'll never get! You have everything I've ever wanted, and you don't even care!" Rachel gasped out.

"We are so fucked up." Quinn groaned. Rachel blinked several times. She nodded.

"Fucked up is right." Rachel said.

"Pu-Noah is a good guy. I know he is. I blew it with him. I really believe that your first time is magical, that your virginity is something that you treasure, and that first time should make you feel exactly how you said you did with him. I didn't feel that way with Puck. I really believed I'd be giving away a gift on my wedding night; instead I devalued myself in the back of a truck. Just because I didn't have my dream night with him doesn't mean you can't." Quinn said. Rachel hugged Quinn tightly.

"I really love you Quinnie." Rachel said simply. Quinn hugged her back.

"Back at ya sister from another mister." There was a knock at the door. Tina poked her head through to announce facials and mani pedis in Kurt and Santana's room and you'd better change into your PJs and be there.

***

Rachel had run back to her room to change into jamies, and was sitting patiently as Mercedes smothered her face with green goop.

"Oh, Rach, have you seen the _Telephone _video?" Kurt asked. Rachel nodded as best as she could under Mercedes' hands.

"Heck yes! I fully believe Lady Gaga and Beyonce should star in every single video clip for all time. That clip makes me proud to be a Little Monster" Rachel said. Mercedes stepped away and left the gunk to soak into Rachel's face. Rachel grabbed one of Tina's feet and concentrated on painting her toes "Crimson Crush".

"Ok, everybody has got to stop staring at me. I had sex; I didn't grow an extra arm." Rachel said.

"But it was good right? He like, took care of everything, didn't he?" Santana asked. Rachel turned the colour of Tina's toenails and sighed.

"He took care of everything. It was romantic and hot and everything I wanted it to be. I'm not giving away any more details than that. San, how are things going with you and Jimi?" Rachel asked. Santana's face went all soft.

"Look, we all know I'm no stranger to relationships, right? Every other relationship I've ever had has been based entirely on physical stuff, and how well we matched in photos. But Jimi…wow, she's so much more than that. She talks, and I actually want to listen to what she has to say. That is the first time that's ever happened to me." Santana gushed.

"You are so in love!" Kurt teased. Santana blushed and went back to filing her nails.

"I don't know what Mike and I are. I like him. I like that he makes me laugh, and I like how he makes me feel. I feel important when I'm with him. What I really don't like knowing is if he's actually into me, or if he's just exploring some Queen Latifah fetish with me." Mercedes blurted out.

"Oh, babe, that really sucks!"Quinn said sympathetically, rubbing her knee.

"I know I'm not, all whoop ass black girl like you, but I'm sure I could issue a smack down if you'd like" Brittany said, giving a green faced impression of Mercedes' game face, the bun on the crown of her head wobbling.

"Sorry I made you guys share a room Cedes, I'll swap with you if you want!"Kurt said. Mercedes shook her head.

"That's ok Kurt."She said. Rachel fiddled with her camera.

"Ok ladies, it's been like, a week since I've put a MySpace video up. Care to make a guest appearance?"Rachel asked. After a brief introduction, the girls broke into an a Capella version of _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun._

***

Anyone wanna write some naughty outtakes? I believe in writing what you know, and sexy times is not something I know! I'm working on the next half now

Happy Easter, and a belated Happy Passover!


	23. Chapter 23

Many thanks to GoingVintage for help with my Southern accent!

Don't own, but we can share!

***

With all the time differences, it was 11am when the Glee club finally made it down to breakfast. Rachel was certain that she and Noah arrived on time.

"Er, Rachel, I don't wanna be rude, but where is all that food gonna go?" Matt asked. Rachel looked down at her poached eggs, bacon, char-grilled vegetables and toasted Turkish bread. It was a fair question.

"Most people ask me that. I have a fairly fast metabolism as it is, and I won't be eating until we get back tonight because I hate singing on a full stomach, so I'm loading up now so I don't pass out on you." Rachel explained. Matt nodded and sat down with Brittany. Soon after breakfast, the group headed to the pool to absorb some sun before the big meet. The boys immediately jumped into the pool. Rachel accepted some of Santana's coconut oil, before lying down on one of the deckchairs.

"If I could do this for the rest of my life, it wouldn't be long enough." Santana commented. She accepted her watermelon and strawberry juice off the waiter. She smiled at him as Rachel took her kiwi and pineapple juice.

"Can you do me a favour? Go flirt really openly with the girl on the end. There's a big tip involved in it for you." Santana said, slipping him a few notes. The waiter looked at her dubiously, but flirted obviously with Mercedes when he handed her the drink she ordered.

"What was the purpose of that?" Rachel asked. Santana shrugged.

"Just watch. 3, 2, 1, and look, Mike is making his move!" She said triumphantly. She sipped her juice and lay back, closing her eyes.

***

Rachel looked around the holding room. The comp didn't start until 5pm, but they had to be there at 2.30 for an official reading of the rules and other technical mumbo jumbo, as well as their time to mark themselves on the stage. Rachel tuned out, having memorised all the rules after the Sectionals fiasco. They had their own change rooms, and the holding room was soundproofed, so they could warm up however they wanted. That was cool. They were finally dismissed to head to their change rooms and get ready. A red headed girl with a thick southern accent approached them.

"Ya'll are New Directions from Ohio right?" She demanded. They nodded.

"Which one of you punched Andrea Cohen in the face?" The group looked at Rachel who hesitantly raised her hand. She found herself getting hugged.

"Darlin', you are officially my idol! I'm Missy Bellefleur, from Melodica Show Choir, Bon Temps High in Louisiana. That Andrea Cohen is a right bitch. She spiked my drink with milk last year. Cost us a placing. Very pleased to meet ya'll, can't wait to see whatcha got!" She said rapidly, before heading back to her choir. Rachel turned back to the group.

"I told you! Do not accept candy off strangers!" She hissed. They headed to their change room to get ready. There were three rounds of competition. They had to do one song tonight; round two was two songs, and the final round three.

After her hair and makeup were done, Rachel joined Santana and Brittany in running the usual dance warm ups for the group. After the group was ready, they had the intense stretching session they would need for _Viva La Vida_. After changing into full costume, they headed to the holding room where Mr. Schue took them through a vocal warm up. Ms. Pillsbury stood on the side, smiling encouragingly.

"Everyone, we need to move back to the audience. Absolutely do not stress out! Keep your eyes on the prize, but don't forget to enjoy the time you have on the stage. Is chookas the right term?" She said. She and Mr. Schue waved as they headed back to their seats.

Rachel swallowed hard. She really didn't like the atmosphere in the room.

"Wow. There is some weird mojo going on in here." Mercedes said. Rachel sat on the floor with Santana and Brittany and began to bang her Pointes out. She made sure the seam of her stockings was sitting right, and she spent a good five minutes adjusting the lamb's wool and toe pads in the box of each shoe. She slipped her feet into the shoes, and laced them neatly. She put a tiny piece of masking tape on the end of the ribbons to stop them coming undone onstage.

"Ok, this is ridiculous. Everyone in a circle!" Rachel said. She ordered them to start bouncing on the balls of their feet to drop the tension they were carrying. After that she got them to pass a clap (which was really about pushing energy from one person to the next) around the circle.

"Ok, everybody close your eyes. Stand with your hands out ready to clap and focus your energy on the middle of the circle. Just breathe and concentrate. You'll feel the right time to clap. We're going to all clap together. Now breathe deeply, and when you feel ready clap." Rachel explained calmly. They stood quietly for two minutes, before finally clapping at the same time.

"Ok, while we're here, we're gonna pray! Hold hands guys!" Quinn directed. She led the group in a quick prayer and they were called to the wings. They had their traditional exchange of hugs and kisses as they made their way down. They were announced, and as they performed _Viva La Vida_, they signed their names very clearly on centre stage.

***

All Rachel heard was William McKinley. It took her a few minutes to realise that it was a good thing. She squealed when she realised that they were most certainly competing the next day. They coerced Mr. Schue into letting them pick up takeaway Indian on the way back to the hotel, and they ate together in Kurt and Santana's room.

***

Rachel stood in the dressing room, wielding a can of hairspray and a straightening iron with deadly accuracy. For this round, the group had agreed on jeans and Chucks, with any thing in red, white and black on top. The boys, minus Kurt, had made themselves scarce after they realised the amount of primping the girls were going to do. Nobody minded, the girls had agreed that it was best that they hair and make up-ed in their underwear, for fear of getting crap on their costumes.

All the girls had loose waves in their hair, the right side pulled away from their faces, as well as false eyelashes and Russian Red lips (it was Rachel's MAC lipstick, and yes, she'd only bought it because its Christina's signature colour). Rachel looked around at the girls. They all looked so different. Tina had paired a collared white shirt with a black vest and Artie's red tie, and had a mini black top hat on her head, Quinn had on a red shirt with a black lace overlay. Mercedes had teamed a white business shirt with a red pinstriped black bustier, while Brittany had an oversized black dance singlet on with a red and white bikini top underneath. Santana was Hollywood taping her white tube top to her chest and had a big red flower in her hair.

Rachel checked her makeup for the last time before pulling her shirt on. Deborah had given her Noah's freshman year football jersey; and while it was much smaller than the one he wore now, it was still miles too wide for her frame. Mercedes had gone to town, customising it so it sat off the shoulder, and it had a knot at her hips that revealed the tiniest sliver of midriff. The name Puckerman and the number 20 were proudly on display across her back.

Kurt set the timer for photos. He was wearing the ruffled shirt he had worn for their very first number. The boys came back in and changed into their shirts for the performance (Mike was the only one who could work a tee with a tux printed onto it).

"Baby, is that my old jersey?" Noah asked. Rachel nodded.

"Your mom gave it to me a few weeks ago. I hope it isn't too lame." She said. He spun her around so they stood chest to back. He put his hands on the hips and kissed her cheek lingeringly (Kurt had nearly castrated him yesterday for ruining Rachel's lipstick before the performance by kissing her).

"Definitely not lame. I like it." He said. He stooped to pick up his guitar as they headed out to the holding room. They ran the same warm-ups as the day before.

"I just can't shake it. There is some bad ju ju going on here." Mercedes groaned. Rachel stopped pacing.

"Screw this. Noah, get the guitar out. Let's jam." Rachel said.

"I'm not kidding. We are going to drown in the tension back if we sit here complaining about it. Let's just be us. It worked against Carmel, didn't it?" Puck knew better than to argue with this Rachel. He pulled the guitar out and began to play _Wonderwall _by Oasis. Rachel flipped the group a crazy eye and they began to sing along with the chorus. It was like they were back in the music room at McKinley. Midway through _Ride Wit Me_ Quinn gestured for all girls choir decked out in pink to come and join them. The effect was instantaneous. The bad ju ju in the room disappeared as all the choirs belted out _Time Of Your Life_ by Greenday.

"Sorry guys, we gotta hit the stage!" Mercedes said. Tina did a last minute lipstick check and they headed onstage. They had easily gotten _Don't Stop Believing_ from a nine to a ten, and Rachel and Finn introduced New Directions to the audience as their stools were brought out for the next number. Artie beat out the count in on the side of the guitar. He played the intro and Quinn began to sing

_Me and all my friends  
We're all misunderstood  
They say we stand for nothing and  
There's no way we ever could_

Kurt took over the next verse  
_  
Now we see everything that's going wrong  
With the world and those who lead it  
We just feel like we don't have the means  
To rise above and beat it  
_

Rachel felt the warmth drift down to her toes as they sang the chorus

_**So we keep waiting  
Waiting on the world to change  
We keep on waiting  
Waiting on the world to change **_

Rachel noticed the arms in the crowd swaying as she sang her verse

_It's hard to beat the system  
When we're standing at a distance  
So we keep waiting  
Waiting on the world to change _

Noah, Mercedes and Finn joined her as they harmonised through the next verse__

_Now if we had the power  
To bring our neighbors home from war  
They would have never missed a Christmas  
No more ribbons on their door  
And when you trust your television  
What you get is what you got  
Cause when they own the information, oh  
They can bend it all they want___

_**That's why we're waiting  
Waiting on the world to change  
We keep on waiting  
Waiting on the world to change**_

Artie looked up from the guitar to the audience as he sang__

It's not that we don't care,  
We just know that the fight ain't fair  
_**So we keep on waiting  
Waiting on the world to change  
**__  
__**And we're still waiting  
Waiting on the world to change  
We keep on waiting **_

_**waiting on the world to change**__  
_

Tina raised her eyebrows wickedly as she sang the next few lines

_One day our generation  
Is gonna rule the population  
__**So we keep on waiting  
Waiting on the world to change**_

We keep on waiting  
Waiting on the world to change

New Directions stood and bowed to the audience. They had nailed that round, and they knew it.

***

They had done it. They were in the final round for Nationals. Rachel was on cloud nine. She smiled as Missy.

"How'd you go?" She asked. Missy shook her head.

"Not our year. It was fantastic to compete against ya'll though. If you're ever in Louisiana, look us up." She said. She turned to head back to her choir.

"Wait! Come take pictures with us!" Kurt called out. Photos were taken; email addresses exchanged and Melodica promised they would enjoy their ice cream sundaes on behalf of New Directions.

***

Rachel was still on an adrenaline high when they got back to their room after stopping off for Portuguese food on the way back.

"It's a shame we're underage. Napa wine is beautiful." Rachel commented, looking out the window. Noah checked his wallet.

"That doesn't mean much babe. I have my fake ID. I'll go get you some. Its probably the only way thing that will chill you out enough to get some sleep tonight." He said, pocketing his wallet and room key.

"Thanks baby! Make sure you get red though!" Rachel said. She kissed his cheek and he headed out the door. Rachel headed into the bathroom and checked out the Jacuzzi. She fiddled with the handles and a few minutes later had a hot bath running. The door opened.

"Rachel, you here?" Noah called.

"In here baby!" She replied. Noah walked into the bathroom to see Rachel's head and shoulders sticking out of a mountain of bubbles.

"You'll be joining me, right?" Rachel asked.

"Heck yes!" He answered. He uncorked the wine and poured it into the waiting glasses. He undressed and climbed into the tub. Rachel sipped the wine.

"Ooh, good choice baby!" she said. He looked at her blankly.

"I picked the first bottle of red wine I saw. Aren't they all the same anyway?" He asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Definitely not babe. I won't bore you with the details, but not all wines are created equal." She said. She rolled her neck and smiled at him, before putting down her wine glass and kissed him gently.

"I loved seeing you in my jersey today babe." He said quietly.

"I loved wearing it. I love wearing all your clothes." Rachel replied. She kissed him again, before turning his back toward her. She began to knead at his back muscles, grinning when she heard his quiet sighs of enjoyment. He turned to her slowly.

"That was epic." He said. Rachel laughed.

"I sure hope it was. You deserve it babe, working as hard as you do." She said. The bubbles were nearly all gone from the water, and the wine bottle was empty. They got out of the tub reluctantly. Rachel's eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head with pleasure when Noah helped her slather herself with cocoa butter. Rachel put on the shirt he'd been wearing that day and crawled into bed next to him. She curled up against him and ran her nails gently along his jaw line.

"I can't wait until you move in." Rachel commented. He smiled and kissed her wrist.

"Any reason why?" he asked.

"Well, I like sleeping next to you. I like waking up next to you as well. But what I think I'll really like is that instead of imagining this…" She moved slowly, straddling his hips firmly. She pulled off her impromptu nightgown.

"Instead of imagining doing this, I'll just be able to do it." She said, leaning down to brush his lips with hers.

***

Rachel lazily flipped through _Pride and Prejudice._ Noah was shaving before they had to leave. Rachel closed the book and stretched out across the bed. It might have be naïve, given that she was currently lying on her very comfy hotel room bed, with her gorgeous boyfriend in the next room, but she wasn't stressed about today. She knew exactly how good New Directions was, and she knew she'd be proud to be part of the group no matter what happened that day. That was her mantra and she was sticking to it like gum to the bottom of a shoe.

"You ready gorgeous?" Noah asked. Rachel accepted his outstretched hand.

"Lets go kill it." She said.

***

They had agreed on the way to the venue that their dressing room was to be a strictly stress free zone. To be more accurate, they promised that there would be no sniping at each other. So far; so good. Every one was chilled out. They all looked awesome in their black and white costumes from Regionals, the girls red lipped and false eyelashed again, and they were all stretched, vocally warm and ready to go. The room was humming. They'd also agreed that they would spend as little time in the holding room as possible. They didn't want to see how few teams were left and they certainly didn't want to give anyone an opportunity to get into their heads and throw them from the game.

Artie was doing last minute checks on all their wheels. They were all set. Rachel adjusted her biker gloves. She adjusted the straps of her tap shoes and held her jazz boots on her lap. They prayed, and quietly wheeled down to the wings. They'd had some trouble bringing twelve wheelchairs onto the plane, but after a few well-placed threats, everything was fine. They'd ignored the looks of the other teams when they saw them bring the wheelchairs in.

_Proud Mary _had gone off. It wasn't really a shock; it was an amazing piece. Rachel really was grateful that they'd had the wheelchair experience thrust on them. They wheeled off stage and moved back on into their opening formation for the next song. The crowd cheered as they heard the opening.

Artie took the opening verse as the dancers began to tap (Tina had choreographed the whole thing, and Quinn had insisted that her pregnancy wouldn't stop her from participating in this number).

_I Took My Baby  
On A Saturday Bang  
Boy Is That Girl With You  
Yes We're One And The Same  
_

Tina came forward and sat on his lap as they sang together._  
_

_Now I Believe In Miracles  
And A Miracle  
Has Happened Tonight___

_**But, If  
You're Thinkin'  
About My Baby  
It Don't Matter If You're  
Black Or White  
**_

Mercedes stepped forward from the group_  
_

_They Print My Message  
In The Saturday Sun  
I Had To Tell Them  
I Ain't Second To None  
_

Kurt came forward and joined her

_  
__And I Told About Equality  
An It's True  
Either You're Wrong  
Or You're Right  
__  
__**But, If  
You're Thinkin'  
About My Baby  
It Don't Matter If You're  
Black Or White**_

Santana and Brittany came forward with Mike__

_I Am Tired Of This Devil  
I Am Tired Of This Stuff  
I Am Tired Of This Business  
Sew When The  
Going Gets Rough  
I Ain't Scared Of  
Your Brother  
I Ain't Scared Of No Sheets  
I Ain't Scare Of Nobody  
Girl When The  
Goin' Gets Mean  
__  
_Matt came forward and rapped as the dancers took on a more complicated tap sequence (they'd incorporated wheelchair chore for Artie, Puck and Finn)

_  
Protection  
For Gangs, Clubs  
And Nations  
Causing Grief In  
Human Relations  
It's A Turf War  
On A Global Scale  
I'd Rather Hear Both Sides  
Of The Tale  
See, It's Not About Races  
Just Places  
Faces  
Where Your Blood  
Comes From  
Is Where Your Space Is  
I've Seen The Bright  
Get Duller  
I'm Not Going To Spend  
My Life Being A Color_

The group lifted Rachel and placed her down at centre stage

_  
Don't Tell Me You Agree With Me  
When I Saw You Kicking Dirt In My Eye  
But, If  
You're Thinkin' About My Baby  
It Don't Matter If You're Black Or White  
_

Quinn came forward with Noah and Finn (now out of the wheelchairs) to join Rachel at centre stage

_  
__I Said If  
You're Thinkin' Of  
Being My Baby  
It Don't Matter If You're Black Or White  
_

_I Said If  
You're Thinkin' Of  
Being My Brother  
It Don't Matter If You're  
Black Or White__**  
**_

The group spilt into couples and danced together as they sang the next bits (Kurt doing the typical Michael falsetto)

_  
__**Ooh, Ooh  
Yea, Yea, Yea Now  
Ooh, Ooh  
Yea, Yea, Yea Now**_

It's Black, It's White  
It's Tough For You  
To Get By  
It's Black, It's White, Whoo

It's Black, It's White  
It's Tough For You  
To Get By  
It's Black, It's White, Whoo

They all hauled butt backstage to quickly change shoes as the boys moved to the band equipment. They heard the familiar bassline and managed to get on stage for their cues for _Higher Ground_. It was the best they'd ever performed it, and it reeked of way more awesome than usual. They had to bow three times before the audience would calm down enough to let them get off stage.

***

It was time for all the choirs to move onstage.

"Ok, it doesn't matter what happens today guys, I love you all dearly and we've done amazingly well!" Rachel whispered to the group.

"Preach!" Artie whispered back. They chose a spot on the edge of the stage and sat together, all holding hands they way they had before the Regionals announcement. All four other choirs had the same expressions on their faces.

"Oh my gosh, there's only five groups. That means only one of us won't place!" Tina gasped. Rachel swallowed tightly. She hated when the judges tried to butter them up by telling them they were all fantastic. She just wanted to know who was the best! So far a choir from Rhode Island had taken fourth, and a group from Florida had come third.

"In second place… Musical Inspiration from New Jersey!" The judge announced. For all of Rachel's talk about how proud she was of what they'd achieved, and her honour to be in the same choir, she had to admit to herself that to be so close to winning Nationals, and not take home a place would be absolutely heartbreaking.

"Of our two remaining choirs, we have one team who has a strong history of doing very well in this competition, and one team who has come out of nowhere, and won a wild card into this level of competition. Both have done outstanding jobs, but there can only be one winner…if I could have a drumroll please…" Rachel had bitten her lip so hard she was sure she was going to draw blood.

"In first place we have New Directions from Lima, Ohio!" He announced. They were on their feet in an instant. They had done it. Noah swooped Rachel into a hug and kissed her deeply. They broke apart, and Matt and Mike lifted her onto their shoulders as the group moved forward to accept their ribbons. Rachel smiled at the other groups, but couldn't help the tear that slid down her face when Mr. Schuester accepted their massive trophy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, New Directions will perform their victory number." Rachel shivered. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"We'd like to dedicate this performance to our director, Mr. Will Schuester, and to our guidance counselor, Ms. Emma Pillsbury. Without your support, we never would have made it this far. I hope this song says all we want to say to you." Rachel said. She looked over. The stools were back, Artie and Noah had both slung guitars on, and Finn was sitting with a congo drum.

Mike began to sing

_I'm nothing special, in fact I'm a bit of a bore _

Matt took over_  
_

_If I tell a joke, you've probably heard it before  
But I have a talent, a wonderful thing _

Rachel shrugged as she took over_  
_

_'Cause everyone listens when I start to sing  
_

Kurt bumped her elbow as he sang

_I'm so grateful and proud  
All I want is to sing it out loud _

The group began to sway their arms in rhythm with the music and watched the audience join in with phones and lighters.__

_**So I say  
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing  
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing  
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty  
What would life be?  
Without a song or a dance what are we?  
So I say thank you for the music  
For giving it to me  
**_

Brittany held her arms in fourth position_  
_

_Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk  
_

Mercedes had a serious case of Mariah hands as she sang

_She says I began to sing long before I could talk  
_

Finn looked up philosophically

_And I've often wondered, how did it all start  
_

Noah shot his most charming face towards Rachel

_Who found out that nothing can capture a heart  
Like a melody can  
_

Tina squeezed Artie's shoulder

_Well, whoever it was, I'm a fan_

_**So I say  
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing  
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing  
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty  
What would life be?  
Without a song or a dance what are we?  
So I say thank you for the music  
For giving it to me  
**__  
_Quinn flipped her hair jokingly

_I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair  
_

Santana squeezed Quinn's hand

_I wanna sing it out to everybody  
What a joy, what a life, what a chance!_

_**Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing  
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing  
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty  
What would life be?  
Without a song or a dance what are we?  
So I say thank you for the music  
For giving it to me**_

Artie strummed the final chords and sang unaccompanied.__

Thank you for the music  
For giving it to me...

***

Now I'm glad I split the two chapters up…it would have be crazy long otherwise!

I hope you enjoyed! Next up I'll probably be working on my piece for the Supporting Stacie auctions… look out for that! I'll also do something for reviewer 250, (I already have something up my sleeve for that, so hope its YOU!)

Also, who else is like, creaming their pants for the GaGa episode? Rachel doing _Pokerface _(all stripped back, I like) and the group doing _Bad Romance_ all GaGa-ed out (Chris was tweeting about his epic costume that required four fittings…it could only be that costume, right?)

We all know I'm a reviews crack whore… indulge me?

Also, an updated song list (all the songs mentioned and the ones with lyrics in the story)

_Whole Lotta Love- Led Zepplin_

_The Only Exception- Paramore_

_Mrs Robinson- Simon and Garfunkel_

_Mustang Sally- I don't know who sings it _

_Money Honey- Lady Gaga_

_Bills, Bills, Bills- Destiny's Child_

_We Are The Champions- Queen_

_Mama Who Bore Me- Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_Mama Who Bore Me (reprise)- Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_The Bitch of Living-Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_Totally Fucked- Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_Candyman-Christina Aguelira_

_I Kissed a Girl-Katy Perry_

_Tik Tok-Ke$ha_

_Without You- Rent Soundtrack_

_For Good- Wicked Soundtrack_

_You're Gonna go Far Kid- The Offspring_

_Bad Influence- Pink_

_I Love Rock'n'Roll- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts_

_Elevation-U2_

_Mr. Brightside- The Killers_

_Thunderstruck-ACDC_

_The Way You Make Me Feel- Michael Jackson_

_My Life Would Suck Without You-Glee Cast version_

_Viva La Vida- Coldplay _

_Higher Ground-Red Hot Chili Peppers _

_I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas_

_Looking Up- Paramore_

_Parlez-vous Francais?__-Art vs. Science_

_Low- Flo Rida_

_My Junk- Spring Awakening Soundtrack_

_Hey There Delilah- Plain White Tees_

_Hey Big Spender- it's a standard, I don't know who did it originally_

_And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going- Dreamgirls Soundtrack_

_Rockin' Robin- The Jackson Five_

_The Winner Takes it All-ABBA_

_I'll Stand by You- Cory's version_

_Don't Rain on My Parade-Lea's version_

_Nothing Else Matters-Metallica_

_Alice- Avril Lavigne_

_Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison_

_Original Songs from the Hangover (Doug, Three Best Friends, Tiger Song)_

_Wonderwall-Oasis_

_Ride Wit Me- Nelly_

_Time Of Your Life- Greenday_

_Waiting On the World to Change- John Mayer_

_Black and White- Michael Jackson_

_Thank you for the Music- Abba_

Long live MJ… gone too soon, we miss you brother.


	24. Chapter 24

http:// dance. ten. com. au/ video. Htm

Go to performances, then showcase week, girls routine for the jazz, and for the ballroom go to week 10 group performance...the site doesn't give links directly to the dances, and yes, I did rip my routines off from So You Think You Can Dance... sue me!

http:// www . youtube . com/ watch?v= oxFvdunfv-4 the song for ballet

And I felt like Rachel got ripped off with the use of Cabaret in the show...so I did it again

I haven't purchased Glee since I last updated (pouts)

***

Rachel couldn't really say that she had been looking forward to returning to school after Nationals. She'd actually quite enjoyed the bubble the team had existed in. Still, she had to admit that being ignored once the group returned to school was far better than being coated in glue. Santana and Brittany were dreading the return to cheerleading practice, knowing that Coach Sylvester was probably salivating at the opportunity to punish them harder than ever for allowing Glee to do well. From the way she strode around the school staring the Glee kids down, she was beyond pissed that the team she'd tried so hard to crush was now the best show choir in the country. Rehearsals hadn't officially been cancelled, so the group headed to the choir room after school.

"The door's locked. That's weird." Matt said.

"We're not supposed to be in the auditorium are we?" Tina asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Nope. The seats are getting cleaned this week. Figgins was stupid enough to leave it unlocked, and someone went trashing the seats with chocolate milk and fish guts. It apparently reeks in there." Rachel said. Mercedes knocked on the door.

"Mr. Schue? Are we supposed to be here, or did you cancel rehearsal on us and forget to mention it?" She called out. The door swung open. The Glee club headed in.

"Surprise!" Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury called out. They'd gone to town, decorating the choir room with balloons and streamers. There was a table full of food and Sing Star set up in the corner.

"We just wanted to congratulate you all on doing so well at Nationals. We're both so proud of having been the teachers who have worked with you." Ms. Pillsbury said.

"You guys know how proud I am of each of you, so lets just have some fun." Mr Schue said. It took seconds for Mike and Mercedes (now a happy couple, even without the assistance of the magical rose coloured Docs) to crank the music up, and the group to get into the junk food and watch Matt challenge Mr. Schue to a dance off.

***

Rachel walked through the door to the pool house with a sigh. The boys had moved in the weekend after Nationals, and the new living arrangements were working well for everyone so far. Right now Rachel was dead on her feet, and wasn't really in the mood for walking on eggshells around her new roommates. She had dance rehearsals for their concert this Saturday from straight after school, and she was exhausted and starving. She walked to the kitchen and shoved some leftover friend rice in the microwave, and walked into the living room and flopped onto the ground.

"So, who wants to ice my thighs?" She asked. Finn, Quinn and Noah looked at her curiously. She sighed and moved her thigh length leg warmers to expose large purple bruises on her legs.

"Whoa, what the hell?!" Finn spluttered. He was still getting used to at home Rachel, the way more bohemian one that ran around the house in her underwear, had very little shame about walking in on people in the shower, and apparently had no problem showing off the bruises on her inner thighs.

"For our opening number, I have to drop into the splits on a chair. It looks spectacular, but having to rehearse it over and over for our tech run isn't exactly what I'd call enjoyable. I don't care though, the number is stunning, and I get to go all Bellatrix Lestrange." She explained.

"You will eventually get used to the fact that Rachel regularly tortures herself for the sake of art." Quinn said soothingly to Finn. The microwave beeped, and Noah stood up and went to the kitchen, returning with Rachel's fried rice and ice packs.

"Oh baby, you are constantly reminding me why I keep you around." She sighed. She jumped as he put the packs on to her bruises, and began to eat.

"Oh yeah, Kurt called to confirm while you were out, he's definitely coming to the concert." Quinn told her. Rachel smiled. She'd only ever had her parents and occasionally Jimi come to see her dance, so to have a big crowd this year was pretty exciting.

"Awesome! You guys will love it. I'm really impressed with all the work we're putting on stage this year." She said. Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt Noah pull the messy twin buns out of her hair and his hands against her scalp.

"So what is the plan for Saturday?" Noah asked. Rachel sighed before answering.

"San and Britt are gonna get here at about three. Our call time to the venue is four thirty, so daddy said he'd drive us out there. The concert starts at 6pm, so my parents said you're more than welcome to travel with them, rather than take however many cars out there. From there you guys will take a seat and watch your Glee sisters amaze you." Rachel said.

"So who's gonna be there?" Finn asked.

"Ok, so my parents, you four, San's family, Brittany's family, Artie's family and Tina's family as well, and Matt, Mike, Mercedes, Kurt and Jimi sent me a text saying that she's gonna come surprise Santana." Rachel said. She stretched down and touched her toes and stood up.

"I'm gonna go shower and hit the hay. I am dead. Night guys." Rachel said.

***

Noah took his seat. He was actually kind of excited. He'd made no secret of it to Rachel that he loved seeing her dance, and seeing her show off her flexibility was something that made him hot, and she knew it. He was quietly anticipating arriving home that evening; Rachel high off adrenaline and all bendy from dancing was always a firecracker combination. Quinn shifted uncomfortably next to him. He went to say something to her, but she cut him off abruptly.

"Don't even say it. It is Braxton Hicks. I called the OB today, and she said it was normal, especially considering I'm not due to give birth for three and a half more weeks. Just sit and watch your girlfriend, I'm fine." She snapped. Noah shut his mouth abruptly. Quinn had always been prone to epic mood swings, even when not pregnant, but he really wasn't going to tangle with her when she was this pissy.

He put the rose that he'd bought Rachel down on the table that ran down the length of the room. She'd forced him to sit through _Phantom of the Opera_ (he'd just thought it was weird watching the seriously badass king from _300 _sing in flowy shirts), and she'd gushed about how romantic she thought it was that the Phantom left Christine a red rose with a black ribbon when he was proud of her. He was pretty sure that she was hinting at something, so he'd made his way to a florist that afternoon with Jesse and described what he wanted in painstaking detail, internally groaning about how whipped he was when the florist giggled down the phone to one of her girlfriends about the sweetest guy ever who'd come into the shop. He was not sweet, he was a badass, and he just liked seeing his girl happy.

The lights had gone down and he looked at the stage. There were girls sitting back to front on chairs with bowler hats on and their heads down. The chair at centre stage had been left bare. The opening of a song started playing, and spotlights flashed all through the crowd before finally settling on the spot at the head of the centre table in the room. Rachel pulled the bowler hat off her head and began to sing.

_What good is sitting alone in your room?  
Come hear the music play.  
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,  
Come to the Cabaret._

Rachel stood up and stepped onto the table. __

Put down the knitting,  
The book and the broom.  
Time for a holiday.  
Life is Cabaret, old chum,  
Come to the Cabaret.

She started walking the length of the table, winking and interacting with the audience as she went__

Come taste the wine,  
Come hear the band.  
Come blow your horn,  
Start celebrating;  
Right this way,  
Your table's waiting  


She accepted the hands of two of the guys she danced with, and let them carry her onstage.

_  
No use permitting  
some prophet of doom  
To wipe every smile away.  
Come hear the music play.  
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,  
Come to the Cabaret!  
_

Rachel stood up on the chair and put the bowler hat bag on her head.

_  
I used to have a girlfriend  
known as Elsie  
With whom I shared  
Four sordid rooms in Chelsea_

She wasn't what you'd call  
A blushing flower...  
As a matter of fact  
She rented by the hour.

Rachel winked at the audience and dropped into the infamous chair split.__

The day she died the neighbors  
came to snicker:  
"Well, thats what comes  
from too much pills and liquor."

But when I saw her laid out like a Queen  
She was the happiest...corpse...  
I'd ever seen.  


Rachel slowly swung around, and stood centre stage, lit by a spotlight_  
_

_I think of Elsie to this very day.  
I'd remember how'd she turn to me and say:  
"What good is sitting alone in your room?  
Come hear the music play.  
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,  
Come to the Cabaret."_

And as for me,  
I made up my mind back in Chelsea,  
When I go, I'm going like Elsie.

Rachel took a deep breath, threw her hat into the crowd and was joined by the rest of the dancers onstage (if anyone had been able to tear their attention from Rachel, they would have noticed Brittany, Santana and Arianne in that group). They moved into an old Broadway style chorus line as Rachel belted the final verse.__

Start by admitting  
From cradle to tomb  
Isn't that long a stay.  
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,  
Only a Cabaret, old chum,  
And I love a Cabaret!

The crowd burst into cheers as they bowed and filed off stage. With an opening like that, one couldn't help but have high expectations for the whole concert. Noah couldn't help himself. He kept looking down at the programme to see when Rachel came back onstage. Sure the six year olds who kept repeating the same eight steps over in different orders were cute (he couldn't help entertaining notions of Rachel taking their daughter off to ballet class) but he really wanted to see his girl light up the stage again.

He didn't care about the dorky smile that spread across his face when the curtains opened to reveal a group of girls in black and red tutus and black shoes. He didn't even get pissed when he saw Rachel get lifted by the douche in tights. The curtains closed, but Noah's mouth didn't. The things he knew about ballet he could count on one hand, but of those things he knew, he had to say that the dance he just saw didn't fit into what he figured was typical ballet. He cheered as the musicless tap number closed the first act (he heard Artie cheering particularly loudly for Tina, who had taken front and centre in the number).

He observed Quinn, flanked by Mercedes and Jimi, head to the bathroom.

"Do you not like that she's just ignoring her backstreet ricks?" Finn asked. Noah snorted and shook his head.

"Not even a little bit. But the more we stress, the more she's going to insist that she's fine. It's the way chicks operate." Noah replied.

"Chicks are dumb." Finn said wisely. Quinn returned with a packet of peanut butter M&Ms as the lights went down. They sat through a few pieces from the junior classes. Kurt's head popped up when he heard the opening strains of _Beautiful Nightmare_ by Beyonce.

Noah could honestly say that he barely noticed anybody but Rachel on that stage. She was phenomenal; sexy and self-assured like nothing else. He cheered louder than anyone at the end of the dance and had to stop himself from standing up and cheering for his girl. Jimi looked over at him and grinned. At least he wasn't the only one who felt that way.

Rachel's ballroom class were closing the concert. Noah laughed out loud when the Bond style tango spread out across the stage. Brittany was the dumb blonde, Santana the exotic beauty, and Rachel was the one that went postal and killed them all at the end. After the bows and the much too long thank you speeches, they finally moved out to the auditorium.

Apparently Santana had come out to her parents, because she launched herself on Jimi and kissed her firmly in front of them. Tina was on Artie's lap and Brittany and Matt were sickeningly cute with each other. Naturally, Rachel was working the room and hadn't quite made her way over to her family. As soon as she got there, Mercedes, Matt, Kurt, Tina and Artie made their congratulations and farewells.

"Sweetheart, that is the best we've ever seen you dance." Jesse said sincerely, handing her a bunch of daisies. Rachel thanked her dad and kissed his cheek. She hugged Jimi who congratulated her before heading off to dinner with Santana's family. Brittany and Matt headed off with Brittany's parents as well.

"I've just got to go get my things. I won't be long." Rachel said. Noah took her hand and they headed up to the dressing room together.

"You were fucking beautiful tonight baby," Noah said, handing her the rose. Rachel looked at the black ribbon tied on the and back up at him.

"Thank you baby. I can't believe you'd remember," she said. He raised an eyebrow at her and kissed her gently. He quickly picked up her costume bags as she threw one of his hoodies on over her denim shorts and singlet, before shoving her feet into her chucks. Rachel wiped off her red lipstick and picked up her dance bag and cosmetics case and followed Noah back to the lobby. Rachel looked at Quinn with concern.

"Babe, are you sure this is just Braxton Hicks?" Rachel asked. Quinn looked at Rachel to make a smart-ass comment but instead doubled over and groaned.

"I don't think its Braxton Hicks." Quinn said quietly.

"What makes you change your mind?" Noah asked. Quinn looked up at him.

"My waters just broke all over my favourite shoes." She replied.

"Holy shit!" Finn choked out. Both he and Noah had turned white. Rachel nearly groaned out loud before taking charge.

"Daddy, go get the car. Quinn can't walk as far away as I'm sure you've parked. Take my costumes, and hang them in the back. Finn, Noah, call your moms and let them know they're about to become grandmothers. Dad, get your stopwatch out, we need to start timing her contractions. Excuse me; we're going to need a wet floor sign over here. You ok Quinn?" Rachel directed, before looking over at Quinn.

"You seem to have everything under control. Someone will need to get my hospital bag though." She said. Rachel nodded.

"Its all under control. My mom is dropping Naomi off at the sitter's and then she'll go get it on the way." Noah said. Quinn let out a strangled squeak.

"Ok, dad, that would be a contraction." Rachel said. Malcolm pulled up at the entrance. They all hustled into the car and sped off to the birthing centre.

They got Quinn admitted quickly, and thus far she was just over 6cm dilated and her contractions were eight minutes apart. She was advised to walk up and down the hallway and thus far had refused all pain medication. Rachel relayed all of this information to Carole and Deborah quickly.

"Quinn, we just want to take a quick ultrasound to make sure everything's ok on the inside." The OB said. Quinn nodded, and stopped momentarily for a contraction before letting Rachel help her lie down on the bed and let the doctor do her thing. The doctor poked around with a few buttons.

"Ok, Quinn, I know this sounds really scary, but the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck. We need to get you in for a c-section right away. We need one of your guardians to sign for the surgery." The OB explained.

"The tall black guy. He's out in the waiting room." Rachel said. The OB walked out. Rachel turned to Quinn.

"Oh my God! This isn't how this was supposed to go! I was in pain all day and I ignored it. She's too little, Rachel; she's not ready to come out yet. This isn't right. It can't be happening like this. I can't DO this!" Quinn was hysterical, sobbing, and she cried out as the most violent contraction yet ripped through her body. Rachel took Quinn's hand, and placed her other hand on her cheek, forcing Quinn to look at her.

"You listen to me, Quinn Fabray. You can, and you most certainly will do this. Sure, this isn't exactly what we had in mind, but it's out of our control now. We will do exactly what is best for our little girl. I will be there for you every single step of the way, so be strong Quinn, because whether it's early or not, Drizzle is on her way." Rachel said. She smoothed Quinn's sweaty hair off her face and kissed her forehead affectionately. The doctor headed back in.

"Ok, Quinn, do you want general anaesthetic or an epidural? If you have the epi your birthing partner can come in with you." She said. Quinn looked at hers and Rachel's joined hands.

"Give me the epidural." She said.

***

Quinn lay on the operating table, mumbling prayers under her breath and counting on her fingers. Rachel was still gripping her other hand.

"Can you feel that Quinn?" The doctor asked.

"Feel what?" Quinn replied.

"Ok, we're getting started." The doctor said.

"Rach, I want you to cut the cord." Quinn said. Rachel nodded. Sensing Quinn needed a distraction; Rachel began to quietly sing the soprano part of the Flower Duet until she was drowned out by what both girls were certain was the most beautiful sound they'd ever heard.

"Congratulations, you are the mothers of a healthy baby girl!" The doctor said. Rachel moved to cut the cord, before returning with a white wrapped bundle. She wordlessly handed her over to Quinn, both of them sobbing too much to talk. Several moments later, one of the nurses came over to take her away for her various new baby tests.

"Rachel, we have to close Quinn up, so you should go give everyone the good news. Quinn will be taken straight to her room. You guys will be able to visit with her for as long as you need to tonight." The doctor explained. Rachel nodded. She kissed Quinn's cheek, and squeezed her hand. She quickly stripped off the ugly scrubs they'd made her wear in the operating theatre, and she ran out to the waiting room.

"She has ten fingers, ten toes and the lungs of an opera singer. She is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Rachel gasped out, before bursting into tears again. She felt a strong pair of arms wrap round her. She looked up at Noah, who looked slightly misty eyed.

"Congratulations daddy." She said quietly. She kissed him chastely before hugging Finn. Her parents grabbed her in a Rachel sandwich.

"We are too darn young to be grandparents." Malcolm said teasingly, his Southern accent flaring up the way it always did when he was emotional. Rachel looked over to see Deborah latched onto Noah, and Finn and Carole hugging tightly.

"Would you like to come meet your daughter?" The doctor asked. Rachel kissed her dads and the women who were fast on their way to becoming her moms. She followed Finn and Noah to Quinn's room. Finn moved over to Quinn's die and Noah moved to the tiny bassinet. Reverently, he reached into the crib and picked up his daughter. He could barely tear his eyes away from her, and he wasn't ashamed of the tear that made its way down his cheek. She had a fuzzy cap of hair that was midway between his and Quinn's colour, and it was immediately obvious that she'd scored Noah's lips and Quinn's cheekbones. He looked at Rachel.

"Look what I made." He said quietly. Rachel laughed. She pulled her iPhone out and took the baby's very first photo with her daddy. She watched as Noah carefully transferred her over to Finn's waiting arms, noting how very tiny she was in Finn's giant embrace. Rachel took a photo of them together.

"She was born at 10.17pm. She weighs exactly six pounds, twenty and a half inches long, blood type AB." Quinn said proudly. She accepted the infant from Finn's arms. She smiled for Rachel's camera phone. Rachel perched herself on Noah's lap.

"What are we going to call her? Drizzle is clearly not an option, and Savannah or Therese just don't suit her." She said.

"What about Delilah?" Finn suggested.

"We are not naming our child after a biblical whore." Rachel, Quinn and Noah chorused. They sat in quiet contemplation for a few moments. Rachel flipped through the name meanings app on her iPhone.

"What about Amaya? It's Japanese for night rain." She said. Quinn looked down at the baby for a moment.

"It's perfect. Its unique and poetic." Finn said.

"Any middle names?" Noah asked, filling out the baby name registration.

"Felicity." Quinn said immediately. Rachel stood up and walked to the doorframe. She saw the grandparents waiting.

"We'd like you to come and meet Amaya Felicity Puckerman-Hudson."

***

Her name had been registered, the birth certificate signed, and one of the world's least conventional families were sitting in Quinn's hospital room when Amaya began to cry.

"Finn, honey, press the nurse's call button. Amaya needs her first feed." Carole said.

"And that is our cue to leave." Jesse said. He and Malcolm said their goodbyes and made their leave.

"Guys, would you mind horribly if I asked you to leave the room for this?" Quinn asked as the nurse entered. Finn and Noah walked out to give Quinn some privacy. Deborah and Carole insisted on staying to make sure that the nurse wasn't dismissive of Quinn. The nurse instructed Quinn, answering all her questions, but was a little bit surprised when she saw Rachel watching intently.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, Doc C. told me all about you guys. Look, Quinn will still be in when she stops producing colostrum. When that happens make sure you request me and I'll come in and teach you the fine art of breastfeeding. I had my first baby when I was eighteen, so I kind of know how you guys are feeling. My name is Nicole, by the way, and if you have any questions, you just give me a call." She said. She offered to bring a bed in so that somebody could stay the night with Quinn. With Quinn's permission, she took a snap of the first time she ever breastfed Amaya. The nurse stayed until Quinn was ready to burp the baby, and headed out when the boys came back in. Rachel took a photo of Amaya lying against Quinn's chest.

"I'll send out a text announcing her birth to everyone." Rachel said. Quinn nodded and yawned.

"I think it's time for us to leave. Whoever isn't staying can take my car, Carole can give me a ride home." Deborah said.

"Is it ok if Finn stays with me?" Quinn asked. Rachel and Noah both nodded. They hugged them both goodbye.

"Wait! You and Amaya don't have a photo yet." Finn said to Rachel.

"Oh, well, that's ok." Rachel said hesitantly.

"Don't be a dumbass. Give me your phone Rachel." Noah said firmly. Rachel picked Amaya out of her crib and cuddled her against her chest. She put her nose to her head and breathed her baby smell. With her stage make up half wiped off, it was sure to be a shocker photo, but she was too in awe of being a mom to care. It was several minutes before Rachel could bring herself to put the baby down.

"We'll be back as soon as visiting hours start, Quinn." Noah promised. Quinn nodded from her pillow.

Noah and Rachel walked to the car. At close to one am, the drive home only took a few minutes. Rachel passed the time by sending a text out of Amaya with the details of her birth. Rachel went and showered off her makeup and sweat from the concert and flopped into bed with Noah.

Noah wordlessly handed Rachel a black box. Rachel looked at him, eyes wide. She opened the box to reveal a white gold ring, one pearl sitting in the centre, tiny diamonds lining the band.

"I'm not proposing. At least, I'm not proposing yet. When I do, I'm going to give you a proposal that screams romantic from the rooftops. I love you so, so, so much Rachel, and I can't imagine how much my life would suck without you. This is the ring I'm going to give you when I do. This is my promise to you baby. I love you. I will always love you, and I don't know what the hell I did to deserve you. I am never letting you go." He said simply.

"So, this is you proposing that you're going to propose?" Rachel asked. He nodded.

"I guess so, yes. I want my proposal to be perfect, but I wanted to be totally honest with you and tell you right now that I'm never going to look at another woman again." He said. Rachel smiled at him. She handed him the box back. She kissed him deeply.

"If we're being totally honest with each other Noah, I have to tell you this. If it were a proposal, I wouldn't have said no. If we got engaged now, it wouldn't mean we'd have to get married in six months. We could wait years if we wanted to. I know I've made it clear all the dreams I have for my professional life, but all I've ever really wanted was to be happy. If I never get to the Big White Way, I'll be fine. I have everything I've ever truly desired right here." She said. He dropped his head, and kissed her neck several times.

"Then why the hell are we waiting? Rachel Barbara Berry; I love you. Will you marry me?" He asked. Rachel pretended to think.

"I can do that." She said. She laughed when he pulled her on top of him and kissed her the way he had the day in the parking lot. He pulled away slowly. He took her left hand in his. He pressed a gentle kiss to her ring finger, before sliding the ring into place.

"It was my Nanna Connie's ring. She and my grandfather survived a Holocaust and were married for sixty-five years. Hopefully we can get in on some of that ourselves." He said. Rachel blinked back her tears (honestly, she was the cure to solving world wide water shortages tonight). She flicked the lamp next to the bed off and kissed Noah in a way that left her gasping for air and longing for more…

***

So yeah. A baby, and a proposal… I know it's kinda sappy, and super unrealistic, but I can't say that I really care. The characters took me here, and I like it! Who reads fanfic for realism anyway? My reasoning is that they know they're parents together, they love each other, and its not like they're breaking up anytime soon, so why shouldn't they take the next step?

The name Amaya I got by putting rain into babynames dot com, Amaya was the prettiest one... it's almost Drizzle!

The nurse, Nicole, is based on my own mum. She had me at 18 and is a massive champion of breastfeeding, so I figured I'd slip her in where I could.

Reviews are love and will make Amaya grow up strong and healthy **wink, wink**


	25. Chapter 25

Hey guys! My Stacie Fic is up! It's called Finally Here... check it out, I think it's rather cute!

As usual, I don't own anything but Jimi, and I guess the name Amaya Felicity is mine as well :)

***

Rachel woke up to the sound of her phone chirping the Jet's whistle. She unlocked it blearily and read the congratulatory text messages from the Gleeks with a smile. She changed her wallpaper from one of Glee at Nationals to the one she'd taken of Noah and Amaya last night. She sent a text to the Gleeks about visiting hours. She felt Noah move his head against her neck and pull her closer.

"Good morning daddy." Rachel said quietly.

"Morning fiancé." He whispered in reply, in between pressing kisses against her bare skin. Rachel smiled before putting her phone on the nightstand and kissing him more fully.

***

Rachel and Noah headed up to the main house for breakfast with Rachel's dads.

"Morning daddy." Rachel said cheerfully before hugging him. Malcolm looked at Rachel and Noah for a second before shouting up the stairs.

"Good Lord! Jesse, get down here! He finally did it!" Rachel looked at her daddy curiously.

"What are you talking about? Amaya was born last night." Rachel said. Jesse came down the stairs.

"We know that pumpkin, we were there. We're talking about the fact that Noah finally proposed." Malcolm said.

"Now I'm confused." Rachel said.

"I asked their permission when I moved in." Noah explained.

"We know you're both young, but we also know that you both have good heads on your shoulders. Rachie, you've known what you've wanted out of life since you were three. As if we'd ever stand in your way." Jesse said.

"Congratulations baby girl." Malcolm said. Rachel launched herself at him and hugged him tightly. She pulled away and hugged Jesse just as tightly. She smiled when she saw her dads hug Noah. They sat down to breakfast together, Rachel pouting when she realised today was the first day of her giving up coffee for at least six months.

***

"Rach, can you do something for me baby?" Noah said as they re-entered the pool house. Rachel nodded. He led her to the bathroom and pulled out his clippers.

"Its time for me to be a grownup. The 'Hawk needs to go." He said. Rachel had noticed that it had needed a trim for some time now, and she realised why he hadn't done it. She nodded and smiled. She plugged the clippers in. She kissed the crown of his head, letting her lips linger there for a few seconds. She closed her eyes for a moment and after opening them, slowly clipped away the Mohawk that had characterised Puck for so long, and when she finished, she saw the Noah that she'd known privately for so long exposed to the whole world.

"Now, I need to tell you something. I'm going to wear the ring on a chain today. This is something I will definitely be telling Quinn before anybody else; but I also don't want to be taking away from the fact that she just gave birth. Is that ok with you?" Rachel asked him. He nodded.

"As long as you wear it tonight. Mom wants us over for a late lunch/early dinner thing and I plan on telling her that you said yes then. Finn already knows that I was going to show you the ring after the baby was born, so I'll tell him that almost was not good enough for you." He said. Rachel nodded and kissed his lips. She dusted him off and cleaned up the hair from the floor, and headed into her room to get changed.

"Babe, I think I might spend some time at home before I go into visit Q and Maya. I haven't hung out properly with Nay for a while and she's already scared I'm going to forget about her, so I wand to make sure she knows I haven't traded her in for a newer model." Noah said. Rachel nodded, and moved toward him so he could do up her chain for her.

"I think that is a really good idea baby. I'm sure Nay is missing you." She said. After ensuring Quinn didn't need anything from home, Rachel kissed Noah goodbye and headed to the hospital. She picked up a flower arrangement for Quinn and headed into the hospital.

"Morning mommy." Rachel said quietly. Quinn smiled.

"Hey there MILF." She teased back. Rachel put the flowers down on the vanity and hugged Quinn tightly. She looked over at Finn.

"Morning to you too, gentle giant. Do you wanna take my car home and shower and stuff?" She asked him. Finn nodded. She handed him her keys and he said his goodbyes to them both and headed out.

"Amaya fed again about half an hour ago. She's off having her sight and hearing tests done now." Quinn said. Rachel nodded. She handed Quinn her phone to read all the texts from the Gleeks.

"I'm not sure when they're planning to head in to see you today, but I figure you might want to get changed into some nicer PJs for when they arrive?" Rachel asked. Quinn nodded. The hospital gown she was wearing wasn't even a little bit comfortable.

"Can you help me change for a shower? I know it's a little awkward. I can you know, bathe just fine, it's the changing and the moving in and out that's the problem." Quinn asked uncomfortably. Rachel nodded and shut the door and helped Quinn change. The epidural had worn off, but she was still on painkillers for caesarean incision, so she was a little shaky on her feet. After a shower, brushing her teeth and hair, cleaning her face, and changing out of the nightgown the hospital had given her after the procedure; Quinn was feeling much more comfortable. A nurse wheeled Amaya back in. She had a nametag on the top of her bassinet, and a sign declaring she'd passed her hearing and sight tests.

"She's doing really well. She's exactly where we want her to be. Also, make sure you get up and start walking around. I know it's unpleasant, but you're at risk of blood clots if you stay in bed." The nurse explained to Quinn. Quinn smiled as the nurse left the room. Rachel had cleared her camera of concert photos from the night before that morning, and she quickly snapped a shot of the signs, before taking a photo of Amaya dressed in her Calvin Klein onesie from Aunty Kurt. Rachel put the camera down and picked Amaya up.

"So, I have something to tell you." Rachel said. Quinn looked at her, frowning slightly.

"Its nothing bad." Rachel said. She sighed and shook her head.

"Ok, I don't know exactly how to say this, so I'm just gonna say it. Noah proposed." Rachel said. Quinn's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"I said yes, obviously! Apart from my parents, you are the first to know." Rachel said. Quinn covered her mouth to muffle her squeal of excitement.

"Oh my gosh! Rachel, congratulations! That is so incredible! Where's the ring?" she asked. Rachel handed her Amaya and undid the chain around her neck. She slid the ring back onto her finger and showed it to Quinn.

"It was his grandmother's. I want to keep this quiet for a while though. I'm not stealing Amaya's spotlight. I just wanted my maid of honour to be the first person to know." Rachel said. Quinn nodded and gasped.

"Really? Not Jimi?" she asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Nope. Its you. We've gone through way too much together for it to be anyone else." Rachel said. Quinn gently put Amaya down and hugged her. Rachel put the ring back around her neck and opened Quinn's door.

"Rachel, could you do something for me?" Quinn asked. Rachel nodded.

"Can you please call my parents house and let them know that I gave birth? I know they're jerks, but I don't ever want them to be able to say that I kept knowledge of Amaya from them." Quinn said. Rachel nodded.

"Ok Quinn, we are going to take a turn around the room." Rachel said firmly. Quinn glared at her. Rachel offered her an arm and helped her up.

"Ok, all we have to do is walk around the bed a few times. It's easy."Rachel said encouragingly. They managed five loops around the bed before Quinn insisted she wanted to sit down again.

Rachel and Quinn were chatting quietly when they heard a knock at the door. They looked up to see Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury there, holding a giant bunch of flowers.

"Congratulations, both of you." Ms. Pillsbury said. Rachel smiled.

"Come on in. Amaya, I'd like you to meet Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury" Rachel said to Amaya, currently resting in Quinn's arms.

"Oh please girls, its Emma and Will." Emma said quietly. Rachel smiled, and accepted the flowers off of Emma.

"Ok then, Amaya Felicity Puckerman-Hudson, meet Uncle Will and Aunty Emma." She said. Quinn looked at Will.

"Would you like to hold her?" She asked. He nodded. Quinn carefully passed her to him. Rachel could sense that both Quinn and Will were feeling slightly uncomfortable about the fact that Will was holding the baby that was so close to being his. Rachel indicated to Emma that they should give them a moment of privacy.

"Mr. Schuester... Will. I am so sorry for what I did to you." Quinn breathed. Will looked at her and shook his head.

"Don't you dare apologise. Terri took advantage of you when you were vulnerable. Believe me, you weren't the only one that fell for her act. Amaya is gorgeous Quinn, you should be very proud of her." He said. Quinn smiled; glad she'd finally cleared the air with the one of two teachers who hadn't looked at her in disgust once she'd popped.

"Thank you. She's the best thing I've ever done." She replied. After a few moments, Emma and Rachel returned. Rachel snapped a shot of Will and the baby. Emma looked terrified when Will handed Amaya to her, but finally relaxed when she saw how peaceful she remained, and managed to smile for the camera. Emma held Amaya for a few moments, before putting her down in the bassinet. Rachel shook her head when she heard Noah reminding Naomi to be quiet before they came in the door.

"Hi Aunty Nay! Hey babe, Will and Emma came in to see us," Rachel said. Will stood and shook Noah's hand, and Emma gave him a quick hug. Naomi stood over the bassinet, enthralled.

"Quinn, Noah, you guys make pretty babies." She breathed. Noah broke into a wide grin.

"We sure do. How would you like to hold her kiddo?" he asked. Naomi gave him a toothy grin and nodded fervently. She sat down in the seat that Rachel vacated for her, and listened to Noah's instructions on supporting her head intently. Her eyes lit up when she finally got to hold her niece, and she smiled for Rachel's camera. She sat there holding the baby for several minutes, when she frowned slightly.

"Is something wrong Nay?" Rachel asked. Naomi looked up at her.

"Well, I don't think so. But she doesn't do very much, does she?" Naomi commented. The adults in the room stifled their laughter.

"She won't do much for a while now. All she really can do is eat, poop and sleep. You have to remember that she's not even a day old." Quinn explained gently. Naomi nodded.

"Well, someone else can have a turn of her now." She said. Noah didn't need more of an invitation. He swooped down and picked up his daughter.

"We might head off now. Congratulations again, you have a beautiful little girl." Emma said, handing Quinn a gift. Quinn thanked them and waved as they left.

"Oh yeah, Noah, congratulations. I heard the big news and I gotta say, you moved in on what is definitely in the top ten best things that has ever happened to you." Quinn said. Noah grinned.

"Thanks Quinn." He replied. He handed Amaya to Rachel, and hugged Quinn tightly. Amaya began to whimper.

"Ok, squirt, that's our cue to check out the cafeteria food." Noah said, grabbing Naomi and leaving Quinn so that she could feed Amaya in peace.

***

Finn arrived at the same time that Tina and Artie did. Rachel was carefully burping Amaya, and it took a few minutes for them to clear space in the tiny room for Artie's wheelchair to fit comfortably.

"Was it like, brutal?" Tina asked, her bright blue nails gently playing with the hair on Amaya's head.

"It was the most painful experience of my life. I had to have a c-section, because Amaya managed to wrap her umbilical cord around her neck" Quinn explained. Tina nodded.

"Hearing that was really scary. The good part was that we got to meet her way sooner, because if Quinn had to push her out, she probably would've given birth like an hour ago." Finn commented. Tina placed the baby in Artie's arms, and went through the pictures that Rachel had taken.

"I can see it already. She's going to be stunning." Tina said. She quickly took one of Artie and the baby at Rachel's suggestion.

"Oh come on, with parents like hers, there's no way she's gonna be anything but stunning." Noah said from the door.

"Whoa. You sound like Puck, and you kinda look like Puck, but you can't be Puck. What happened to the Mohawk?" Artie asked. Noah shrugged.

"It was time to grow up. The 'Hawk had to go. It was way too high maintenance anyway." Noah said.

"I agree with you Artie, he looks weird." Naomi commented from her colouring book in the corner.

"Are you kidding me? It looks fabulous." Kurt commented from the doorway. He and Mercedes had arrived.

"Congratulations guys." Mercedes said softly. They filed into the room. They stopped when they saw Artie with the baby.

"She's so cute." Mercedes said.

"You could totally pimp her out for baby commercials." Kurt added.

"There will be none of that." Rachel said firmly.

"You guys take a seat and hold her now, because she's due for a sleep." Quinn said. Rachel carefully deposited her in Kurt's arms, and took a photo.

"I love that she's wearing my outfit." Kurt commented. He handed the baby over to Mercedes.

"She's so tiny. Aren't you scared of breaking her?" Mercedes asked. She smiled for the camera.

"Only all the time." Finn commented. He took her from Mercedes and made quick work of putting Amaya to sleep. Rachel hit the call button, and a nurse came to take her to the nursery, promising to bring her back when she woke up. A few minutes later, Quinn's was brought in for her.

"Sorry guys, I'm just going to eat in front of you. Breastfeeding makes you totally ravenous." She said.

***

Most of the Gleeks headed off soon after, and left the young parents and Naomi to hang out.

"Visiting hours is nearly over." Rachel commented. She looked over at Quinn, who looked pooped.

"Finn, you stick around and have nap time with Quinn. You and Amaya can bond while Quinn sleeps. You and Quinn should take a walk up and down the corridor too." Rachel suggested. Quinn was practically asleep as she said goodbye to them, and Finn waved as he asked a nurse to bring his trundle bed back. Rachel fumbled through her bag for her keys as they walked to the car. She unlocked the car and handed the keys to Noah.

"You can drive babe, I'm in the land of I can't be bothered, especially after getting no sleep and not being allowed coffee." She said. She moved the passenger's seat forward so that Naomi could jump into the back, and she sat down in the seat and did her belt up. It took her several goes to undo the chain that held her engagement ring around her neck, and she slid it on before having a power nap on the way to Deborah's house.

***

Deborah had squealed when she saw the ring on Rachel's finger. She launched herself at Rachel and squeezed her tightly, thanking her quietly for setting her boy back on the straight and narrow. Naomi's only concern was whether or not she could be the flower girl.

"Rachel, you look exhausted." Deborah said. Rachel accepted the cup of tea that Deborah offered her.

"Well, I can't say I did a lot of sleeping last night. That and now that Amaya is here, I can't drink coffee. It will affect my breast milk." Rachel explained. Deborah nodded.

"I understand completely sweetheart." She said.

***

After a short nap on Noah's old bed, Rachel and Noah headed back to the see Quinn and the baby. They headed in with Quinn's requested McDonalds order about an hour after visiting hours started for the evening. Quinn attacked the bag of food, and Finn looked at them proudly.

"I changed Amaya's first ever diaper." He said proudly. Rachel smiled.

"Good work Finn." She answered, stealing a few of Quinn's fries. Finn's jaw dropped and he shoved Noah lightly.

"You asked her?" He said. Noah nodded.

"Congratulations asshole!" Finn said, getting up and hugging him. He grabbed Rachel and pulled her into a bone-breaking embrace.

"Congrats Rach," he said, giving her a brotherly kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Finn." Rachel said. She answered her phone and had a brief conversation.

"That was Jimi. She's on her way up with San and Britt." She said. She reached around to undo her necklace. After slipping the ring back onto her chain, Noah came behind her and did it back up. His hands stayed on her shoulders, massaging them lightly.

"Congratulations world's hottest family." Jimi said from the doorway. The girls came in and hugged them all hello. Santana added another bunch of flowers to the already groaning bedside table.

"So, where is she?" Santana asked. Quinn pressed the button that asked a nurse to bring the baby back from the nursery.

"Well, she's in the nursery at the moment, but someone will be bringing her back again." Quinn said. As they were waiting, Quinn told them the story of the birth.

"They sliced the baby out of you? Ouch!" Brittany said. Quinn nodded. The nurse brought Amaya back into the room.

"Hey princess. You have some more Aunties here to come visit you." Rachel cooed as she picked her up. She handed the baby to Brittany, who carefully leaned back into her chair as she held her. Rachel took a picture of her.

"Jimi, if you smell like smoke you're so not holding her." Rachel commented, flipping through the pictures with Noah.

"Relax, mom, I don't smell like smoke." Jimi replied.

"Hey, when did Matt and Mike come?" Noah asked.

"They were here about an hour ago. Mike nearly cried when he saw her. That dude is clucky. Mercedes should be careful." Finn commented. Brittany breathed a sigh of relief when Santana took Amaya from her.

"She's like, really pretty and all, but I don't want to squish her," she explained to Quinn.

"You are so cute. You are so cute. You are making my ovaries hurt you're so cute. Yes you are." Santana crooned to Amaya. She smiled as Rachel took her picture. Santana really was clucky. She finally handed the baby over to Jimi, who looked slightly terrified in her photo. Rachel put the camera down and reclaimed the baby.

"You guys are so brave." Brittany commented.

"I wouldn't even know what to do with a baby." She added. There were many responses that one could make to a statement like that from Brittany, but everyone in the room bit their tongues. Soon after, the girls headed off for the evening.

Rachel was humming lightly to the baby, and pressed a kiss to her forehead lightly. She looked up when she heard the camera click.

"Show me that." She demanded. Quinn held the camera out to her.

"You're always stuck behind that thing. It was about time someone got a decent photo of you with your daughter." Quinn said.

"Are you going to be ok here on your own tomorrow?" Finn asked. The next day was Monday, so Rachel, Finn and Noah were supposed to be heading off to school, but they were all open to the idea of cutting if Quinn needed them.

"I'll be fine. I'll have a quiet day with Amaya. Deborah said she might come hang out with me for a bit anyway. But someone is welcome to stay with me tonight if they want to." Quinn replied. Rachel looked at the infant in her arms.

"Noah, you stay tonight." She said softly. Finn nodded.

"Is that ok?" Noah asked Quinn. Quinn nodded.

"It's totally cool. But you're on the trundle." She said. Rachel told him she'd bring by a change of clothes for him before school tomorrow. Quinn took Amaya for her night time feed. Noah hugged Rachel and kissed her forehead.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning gorgeous. I love you." He whispered in her ear. Rachel put her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I'll see you then." She replied, before heading home with Finn.

***


	26. Chapter 26

Hey all... just as a reminder, the whole Rachel breastfeeding thing was addressed in chapter 20, so it's been a while coming... I know it seems bizarre, but I really think that I've addressed it in such a way that it's in character...let me know if you disagree!

Also, I've been hearing about people copying ideas they find in other fics... I gotta say, I was really upset when I heard it, because what I love about the Puckleberry world is that it's not nasty or bitchy, and that really shook me.

As usual I don't own!

***

Rachel sat in class, tapping her pen against her page. It was last period, and she really, really didn't want to be sitting in chemistry. Especially when she had boobs full of milk that were in serious danger of leaking all over her top. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She chanced a look around; her teacher was yakking at the board and was unlikely to see her check the message at the back of the classroom. It was from Quinn.

"Get here as soon as you can after school. I am officially making breast milk so you can take up your share of feeding Amaya."  Rachel smiled. She crossed her legs and slid her phone under the table so she could text Quinn back.

"School lets out in 10. I'll be there in 25. Boobs are about to explode they're so full. Bring it the heck on." 

***

Rachel was super grateful she'd driven her own car to school that day. Finn had stayed with Quinn the night before, so he drove his own car back to school that day, and he and Noah would head home together that afternoon, before heading off to work. Rachel hit lock on her car and walked as fast as she dared up to Quinn's room.

"Hey Quinn!" She said breathlessly. She looked down and groaned. She'd definitely leaked onto her shirt. Quinn leaned over and hit the call button for the nurse.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Quinn asked. Rachel nodded.

"Born ready. Lets do this." She said. Nicole walked in.

"Okie dokie. Quinn was telling me she's making milk now, and that so are you. Here we go Rachel, time to learn how to breastfeed." She said. Rachel unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked the maternity bra she was wearing. She listened to Nicole intently, and gently attached Amaya to her nipple.

"This is the most bizarre sensation!" Rachel whispered. Quinn nodded in agreement. Rachel smiled as Quinn took a photo of her feeding Amaya. Nicole gently instructed Rachel on how to detach the baby, and to swap sides. Rachel nodded intently and followed the instructions. Amaya had her fill and began to doze in Rachel's arms. She successfully detached her again, did up her bra and began to burp her.

"Congratulations, you just breastfed for the first time" Nicole said, gently patting Rachel's shoulder and leaving the room.

"I feel so much closer to her." Rachel said quietly.

"Well, I can't really compare because I've been feeding her since the word go, but I guess I can kind of empathise. It was really strange to watch you feed her." Quinn commented. Rachel looked at the baby resting on her shoulder.

"I can't believe how much I love her in just four days." Rachel said.

"Now that I definitely relate to." Quinn replied. Rachel wrapped Amaya into a burrito baby, stood and rocked her, gently singing to her until she was sound asleep. She carefully put her back into the bassinet.

"Let's just keep her here." Rachel said softly. Quinn nodded. With some effort, Quinn scooted over on the bed. Rachel took her shoes off, and climbed up next to her. After some channel surfing, the girls settled in to watch _America's Next Top Model._

***

Quinn was giving Amaya her 6pm feed when Rachel sent Noah a text requesting sweat pants, a tee shirt and chicken noodle soup with creamed corn in it. She laughed at his text saying she wasn't even his wife yet and she was already ordering him around. Being a fluent speaker of Noah Puckerman, Rachel knew he would be in soon with her requirements.

"You know, apart from the whole major surgery thing, this whole hospital stay has been almost like a live in day spa. I've done my nails, I've watched craploads of TV, and I'm actually ahead on my school work." Quinn commented. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Glad you've gotten such a sweet deal out of it then." She teased. Quinn shrugged and swapped Amaya over.

***

Rachel was gently lowering Amaya into warm bath water when Finn and Noah walked in.

"Oh look at you Princess, you like the warm water, don't you? Let's get you clean baby. Look at you little girl, you're doing so well." Rachel cooed. She smiled up at Noah and Finn.

"How was work?" Rachel asked them. Finn shrugged, before holding up a bag of vanilla cannolis. Rachel grinned. Work for Finn had been very successful then.

"Eh, pretty boring really. I was introduced to the new filing system." Noah said.

"Sounds fascinating." Rachel said drily.

"Totally." Noah replied, equally as drily.

"Ok angel, here we go. I know it's not the most fun part, but its time for us to get you dry and dressed again. Let's just do this." Rachel said to Amaya. She pulled her out of the water, and lay her down on the towel at the foot of Quinn's bed. She cringed as Amaya grizzled at the temperature change. Once she was dry, Rachel carefully put a clean diaper on her and dressed her in a purple onesie.

"There you go Amaya, all dried and dressed again. It wasn't that bad was it?" Rachel asked her. She held her close and rubbed soothing circles on her back until she quietened. She handed her over to Noah as she grabbed her bag of clothes and headed to the bathroom to change. She emerged from the bathroom and kissed Noah on the cheek.

"Thanks for bringing me clothes. And dinner." She said. A nurse came in to take the portable bathtub. Quinn smiled and thanked her. Quinn's dinner arrived soon after.

"I hope you ate boys. Quinn and I are both starving! I'm telling you right now that there's not going to be leftovers." Rachel said seriously.

"We're fine. I had a massive coffee on the way here, and four chilli dogs." Noah replied. Rachel pouted at him.

"You are enormously cruel to me, you know that?" she said. Noah shrugged. Amaya began to complain.

"That's her dirty diaper cry." Quinn said. Rachel looked at Noah hopefully.

"Ok, fine." He groaned. It only took him a few moments to get her changed again.

"So, tell me. What gossip have I missed at school?" Quinn asked. Rachel sipped at her soup thoughtfully.

"Oh, not much. Stevie-May Lewis and Mitchell Davison had an incredibly public breakup on the quad; you know, again. Other than that school is just school." She said. Quinn shrugged.

"Are you kidding me? You're forgetting the biggest news of all. Jimi dropped Santana to school Monday, and Azimio, you know; one of Karvosky's buddies who didn't get expelled; yeah well, he called her a dyke, so she screamed that she'd make him one of the castrati and kicked him in the balls. The school called the paramedics, and rumour has it the doctors were concerned that she'd ruptured something." Finn said. Quinn's eyes widened; and she burst out laughing.

"Ooh, ow. Laughing with stitches isn't fun" She commented once she calmed down. She hit the button attached to her IV, muttering something about the amazing drugs she was on.

"I can't wait to go home." Quinn said.

"The whole hospital thing is nice, but I'm really missing my bed and just being able to chill out around people I know. It's nothing that I can really prove, but a few of the nurses have been a little funny around me." She added.

"Well, I'd be funny around someone who just gave birth to the most gorgeous kid ever." Rachel said, doing her best to hide that she was pissed. Surely it would be considered unethical for a nurse to pass judgement on a patient's situation?

"We should probably talk plans for tomorrow." Noah said, sensing his fiancé was about to bite the head off the next nurse that walked into the room.

"Ok, well, the OB is gonna come through, give Amaya a check up, and then check my stitches and such to made sure I'm not festering or whatever. That should be done with at about 10.30am. I was gonna call Deborah or maybe daddy to see if either of them could pick Amaya and I up; I can't drive for about a month." Quinn said. Finn, Rachel and Noah looked at her, dumbfounded.

"We're cutting school tomorrow Quinn." Finn stated brusquely.

"Yeah, as if we were going to miss Amaya leaving the hospital for the first time." Rachel said. Quinn's eyes immediately began to water.

"Sorry guys, it's the three day blues. I'll cry over just about anything. Yesterday I sobbed over the fact that Carole accidentally put my slippers on the wrong feet." She hiccupped and covered her mouth.

"Don't stress Quinn. We get it. So we turn up at about 10.30 and we'll go from there?" Noah said. Quinn wiped her eyes and nodded.

"Ooh, I went and had a look at the new crèche building." Rachel said.

"What's it like?" Quinn asked.

"It looks great. Cribs, stuff for bigger kids to play with. Moms who are still feeding can come in when they need to, we just have to apply for special passes, and they came up with a system for that. Free periods and lunch, we're free to get our kids to hang out with; it's actually something that they encourage, but parents have to decide who is allowed to grab the kids from day care. Dad also got his hands on the names of the preschool teachers who will be running the facility, and checked their names out. They're all legit. The centre opens after spring break." Rachel explained.

"Awesome; that's like, three weeks away, right? I almost can't wait to be back at school. I need some normal right now." Quinn said. Rachel snagged Finn's bag of cannolis and took a bite out of one, before offering them to the group. Finn grabbed the remote and channel surfed, before settling on _How I Met Your Mother._

***

It was about nine pm when Amaya began to fuss. Rachel moved to pick her up.

"Is that our cue to leave?" Finn asked. He frowned when Rachel began to settle into an armchair with a cushion propped on her lap.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Rachel said.

"Do you want me to call a nurse?" Quinn asked. Rachel shook her head.

"I'll see how I go at first." Rachel said. Within a matter of moments, Rachel had adjusted her top and settled Amaya onto her breast to feed.

"Whoa." Finn breathed. Rachel looked up.

"Is this the first time that…?"Noah began to ask. Rachel shook her head.

"No; this afternoon. That's why I headed here so fast." She explained.

"That is, without doubt, the most awesome thing I've ever seen." Noah said. He moved over and tipped Rachel's head up so he could kiss her delicately. Rachel smiled at Finn, who was apparently a little uncomfortable with Rachel feeding so openly.

"Get used to it Finn. Quinn and I are gonna be her primary food sources for a while." Rachel said. Finn nodded, and quickly looked at his lap again. Rachel burped Amaya, and then switched sides and kept feeding. The room was comfortably quiet, and Rachel would have loved to doze with her daughter. She finished feeding, and she allowed Noah to take the baby to be burped again.

"Who's gonna stay tonight?" Rachel asked. She looked over at Noah, assuming he'd want to be with their daughter overnight again. He'd spent most of the night before speculating about how Amaya was doing, and how he wanted her home.

"You stay Rach." Finn said. Rachel looked over at Noah. He nodded.

"Absolutely. You girls have a fun night without us." He said.

"For sure. We need to get used to this tag teaming thing we're going to do, and we need to do that sooner rather than later." Quinn said. Rachel nodded.

"I have a change of clothes in the back of my car. I'll just head down to get it." Rachel said. She was pleasantly surprised when Noah handed Amaya over to daddy Finn and snagged her hand to head down to the car with her. She smiled as he pulled her into a warm embrace in the elevator.

"Being home together will be good." Rachel said; her voice slightly muffled against his shirt. He nodded and kissed her head.

"You bet. Can't wait to have both my girls at home with me." He said. Rachel smiled, and kissed him tenderly as the elevator doors opened. Rachel unlocked her trunk and pulled out a change of clothes.

"I'm going to start wearing the ring." Rachel said firmly, pulling her clothes out of the trunk. It hadn't left her person since he proposed; she wore it on a chain when she wasn't around family. Noah's face lit up.

"Really?" He asked. Rachel nodded and closed the trunk.

"Why should I hide the fact that you're gonna be stuck with me til death do us part? I start wearing the ring, and we let people figure it out on their own. It won't take long for one of the Gleeks to work it out, and once Kurt and Mercedes figure it out, the whole of greater Lima will know within an hour. The only people our engagement really affects are our parents, our daughter and our best friends." Rachel said. She squeaked when she felt Noah grab her, and use the car as leverage to dip her and kiss her deeply. She nipped at his lower lip playfully.

"We should go upstairs." She said hesitantly. He nodded. She handed him her keys so he could drive her car home.

When they arrived back in Quinn's room, the trundle bed was set up and Quinn and Finn were lying together on the bed with Amaya. Rachel whipped out her phone and got a picture. Noah plunked himself in the armchair she had just been feeding in, and pulled her onto his lap. Rachel yawned and rested her head in the crook of his neck. She wasn't really sure what happened, but she figured she must have taken a nap because the next thing she was aware of was Noah moving her onto the trundle bed and him kissing her goodnight.

***

The feeds throughout the night had been quite easy. Quinn got up to Amaya at around midnight, and when Amaya began to cry at around 2.30am because of a wet diaper, Rachel changed and fed her without disturbing Quinn too much. Right now Quinn was having her stitches checked out with the OB and Rachel was burping Amaya after a feed.

"Look, Quinn, you're healing up quite well, but you need to take it slow. No exercise for about eight weeks, no lifting anything heavier than the baby, avoid staying on your feet for long periods of time, and no sex for eight weeks." The doctor told Quinn. She nodded.

"What does that mean for school?" Quinn asked.

"Look, I can't imagine that you're going to be able to handle all that you need to be able to handle at school so soon after surgery. I would say that you can go back to school when the crèche opens up." The doctor explained. Quinn nodded.

"Rachel, are you having any problems feeding?" The doctor asked her. Rachel shook her head.

"No, so far it's been fine. While Quinn is at home, should I just be expressing when I would ordinarily feed?" Rachel asked. The doctor nodded and headed out the door. Quinn rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out her change of clothes for the day. She went to the bathroom to change. She was back in one of the baby doll style dresses she favoured so much, scared she wouldn't be able to do her jeans up.

"Ok, now the big question… what does Amaya wear home?" Quinn said. She went through the outfits in her bag, and the ones they'd been given after the birth.

"I like that one." Rachel said. She pointed to an outfit given to them by Jimi; it was a hot pink onesie with the words "My daddy rocks" emblazoned on the front. Quinn laughed and nodded. Quinn looked at the flowers on the table.

"We do not need this many bouquets." She said. She called a nurse in and asked her to give all but two of the flower arrangements to the single mom in her early 20's she'd seen down the hall who so far hadn't had anyone come and visit her. Quinn cautioned that she didn't want the woman to know whom the flowers came from. Rachel looked around the room.

"I think we've packed everything." She said. She took a snap of Quinn holding Amaya.

"Yep, now we're just waiting on our ride home." Quinn added.

"Are you a tiny bit terrified of taking her home?" Rachel breathed quietly. Quinn nodded fervently.

"Oh my gosh yes. I'm terrified. But we'll be fine. I mean, there are four of us, plus we have your parents, and the boys' moms to help us." Quinn said. They both nodded. Finn and Noah walked in. They exchanged hellos, and Rachel made both dads hold their daughter and took a photo of them together.

"Are we ready to go?" Finn asked. Quinn nodded. They began to walk down the hallway; Amaya gently nestled in Finn's arms. Quinn waved goodbye to the nurses, and asked Rachel to leave one of the flower arrangements there for them.

They headed out to Noah's new family friendly car. It took Finn close to five minutes to figure out how to buckle the baby in, with Rachel taking photos over his shoulder, and Quinn had needed help to climb into the passenger's seat. Noah took the smoothest backstreets he knew, and was careful not to head up the driveway too fast and jar Quinn. Once they were all finally settled in the pool house, smiling at the large welcome home sign that Malcolm and Jesse had put in the living room, Amaya began to demand that she be fed. Quinn settled down to feed her, gently draping a blanket over her shoulder to cover her chest when she fed Amaya. The rest of the afternoon was fairly relaxed, both Quinn and Rachel taking the baby books advice and sleeping while the baby slept. Noah and Finn joined in on the action, and their first day at home was a comfortable one.

***

This might be the last update for a while... I have assignments due every week until semester finishes, and I don't really know where I'm going with this, and I keep getting distracted with my new idea

Please review, its crack to me!


	27. Chapter 27

**Wow, guys, I am SO sorry! It's been ages since my last update! Blame uni for the lack of interaction from me! Its break time now, so I should have lots more time for updating!**

**Just so you know, I'm skipping about a month ahead to after spring break, when Quinn goes back to school. Also, many thanks to SapphireEJ for inspiring me with an upcoming storyline! You're wonderful! If you haven't read her beautiful work, you are severely missing out!**

**I don't own Glee, clearly, cause they'd be bringing the concert tour to Australia if I did!**

Rachel awoke to the sound of Amaya's cries. She stumbled out of bed quickly, and hurried to scoop the baby out of her bassinet before she could wake anybody else up. Rachel settled them both into the rocking chair, adjusted the breastfeeding pillow and let Amaya feed. She stifled a groan when she looked at the clock. It wasn't yet 5am.

"Raindrop, I know you're excited for your first day of school, but this is ridiculous." She mumbled, gently placing Amaya's head on her shoulder. The only response she got was a tiny burp from the baby. Rachel finished feeding her, and upon finding her diaper clean, patted the baby off to sleep before climbing back into bed with her very warm boyfriend, resisting the urge to plunge her cold toes against the back of his legs.

* * *

Rachel groaned when her alarm clock went off. She hit snooze and buried her head against her pillow. She stretched lightly, and frowned when she didn't hit another body. She sat up abruptly, confused. That was really weird. She usually had to shake Noah awake, and he wasn't in the bed. Rachel shrugged and flopped against the pillows. She really, really didn't want to get up. She looked up when she saw her bedroom door open. Noah walked over to her, fully dressed. He sat on the bed and handed her a steaming mug.

"Its hot chocolate." He told her, kissing her forehead. Rachel accepted the cup gratefully. Hot chocolate was quickly replacing coffee in her diet.

"Take your time getting ready today. Finn and I thought we'd get Amaya ready so that you and Quinn could have an easier morning." He said. Rachel smiled gratefully. Today was their first day back at school post spring break (a very mild affair in the Puckerman/Hudson/Berry/Fabray household; they spent the week having a _Friends_ marathon and had the Glee club over for pizza on the Friday night) and Quinn's first day back at school post giving birth.

"Thanks babe." Rachel said with a smile. She got up and padded into Quinn's room. Quinn was staring at the contents of her wardrobe with a critical eye. Rachel groaned and pulled out a plain pink button down sundress, with thick straps. Quinn frowned.

"I think I'm too fat for that." Quinn said. Rachel groaned out loud.

"Quinn, you are as thin as you were before you were pregnant. You didn't even put on that much weight, and you've lost it all breastfeeding. Most women would kill for your metabolism, you lucky bitch." Rachel said. Quinn smiled hesitantly.

"Really?" she asked. Rachel nodded.

"Yes! Would I suggest you wear something that would make you look bad? Come on Quinn, this is me you're talking to!" Rachel replied. Quinn smiled. Rachel headed back into her room and flipped through her wardrobe, before settling on a fifties style floral skirt and a white blouse with capped sleeves. She added a belt to her waist and went to the bathroom to brush her hair and put on makeup. She and Quinn headed to the kitchen at the same time and sat down to breakfast. Finn carried Amaya out to them, dressed in pink floral with a baby headband slightly askew on her head, and carefully strapped her into her bouncer so he could change for school.

"Good morning my princess" Quinn cooed to the baby, reaching out so Amaya could grasp her finger. Noah put the baby bag down on the kitchen table.

"Now, I know you two will want to second guess me on what is in here, so here we go. Diapers, wipes, two complete changes of clothes, a pacifer, not that she will need one, her blanky, in the bottle keep fresh thingie there's two bottles of expressed breast milk in case she needs to be fed and you can't leave class, and there's emergency contact numbers for all of us and our parents. Do I need to put anything else in?" He asked. Quinn gently adjusted Amaya's headband (Finn tried, he really did) and considered it.

"No, I actually think you did ok Noah. Good work." She teased him. He let out a sigh of relief and headed to go get changed.

"Don't stress about school, Quinnlet, everything will be fine." Rachel said soothingly. Quinn smiled.

"I know, I know. But I'm really not looking forward to going back to school after being off for a month. The friend stuff and people who can talk back will be great, but I'm not sure how I'm going to cope with all the moving around and stuff." Quinn replied, hand brushing over where her surgical scar was. She'd had her stitches out two weeks previous, but she was still a little tender.

"Only one way to find out. If it's really bad, we have the wheelchairs in the choir room." Rachel said. She checked the time.

"Ok boys, we have to go!" she called out. Rachel pulled out her camera and began to snap photos of them leaving for Amaya's first day of school.

* * *

Rachel unbuckled Amaya from her car seat and stood up.

"Here we are baby, we're at school. This is where your parents come every day. It's not really that exciting, but it's a new place for you, which is kinda cool. Ooh look, there's Aunty Kurt and Mercedes" Rachel said, giving Amaya a running commentary as the four parents walked through to the crèche at the back of the school. Kurt took the camera from Quinn and continued to take snaps as they went.

"That's the choir room, we'll be spending lots of time in there, now say hi to Uncle Will." Rachel added. She pecked Artie and Tina hello quickly, and they joined Amaya's entourage. Rachel was cooing away when she noticed that the Glee club (minus Brittany and Santana) was heading past the gymnasium, where the Cheerios were leaving from practice. Marcy Gibson, Karofsky's foul girlfriend, gave Rachel an evil grin, and she and her minions walked through the group of Gleeks, Marcy accidentally on purpose flicking Rachel in the face with her open water bottle. Thankfully, it was mostly empty, and it was only by Rachel's reflexes that Amaya stayed dry. She heard a chorus of 'slut' echo down the hallway.

"I don't hit girls, I don't hit girls, I don't hit girls" Noah mumbled under his breath as he slid an arm around Rachel's shoulders and checked on his daughter, whose one month old eyes were taking in her new surroundings rapidly. Matt and Mike moved to flank the young parents.

"Rachel, say the word and we'll drop her in rehearsals this afternoon." Santana said seriously. Brittany nodded fervently.

"Its ok girls. She'll get over it eventually. She's just jealous that all her kids will come out with six fingers." Rachel replied. They finally made it to the crèche building. Several babies and toddlers had already arrived and were playing happily.

"You guys must be the parents of Amaya, right?" An older lady with flaming red hair and freckles asked. Quinn nodded.

"I'm Quinn, this is Rachel, Noah, and Finn, and we're Amaya's parents. This here is Amaya." She answered. Rachel had been in contact with the preschool teachers who would be running the crèche, and had already explained the situation.

"Its lovely to meet all of you. I'm Anne, and I'm the equivalent to a principal here. You've already filled in all the paperwork, so that's a good start. Now here are passes so you can come breastfeed when you need to, and that's both you girls right?" Rachel nodded.

"Fantastic. Now all that needs to happen is you have to say goodbye. I know this is hard, but she'll be right here and perfectly safe." Anne said kindly. Quinn smiled at her gratefully. Rachel hugged the baby a little tighter.

"I don't think I want to do this." She said quietly. She kissed Amaya's forehead and regretfully handed her over to Finn. Finn mumbled a few words to the baby before Noah took her.

"She hasn't had her morning feed." Quinn commented. Anne quickly pointed out the feeding room to her and Quinn headed through with Amaya in her arms. Rachel handed Amaya's baby bag to Anne, and after checking if Quinn wanted her to stay, headed to first period hand in hand with Noah.

* * *

Rachel reached down and touched her toes as she warmed up for gym class. They were doing tumbling for the first half of this semester, and as much as she hated to admit it, Rachel kind of revelled in the whispers that always broke around the room when people saw her bend into a particularly weird pose. She smiled at Tina and the pair of them sat down to stretch each other. Rachel looked up when she heard the fire alarm go off.

"Ok people, this is not a drill. Schuester's hair product probably combusted with Jenna's cleaning solvents. Get to the football field, now!" Coach Sylvester called out. Rachel discreetly checked that her phone was still in her pocket and followed Tina down the hallway. She got her name marked off and quickly started to look around at the fire evacuation. She barely saw several of the crèche staff with babies over at the opposite side of the football field. Noah jogged over to her.

"You ok babe?" He asked. Rachel nodded. They both began to head over to where the babies had been evacuated. Finn and Quinn stepped into their path.

"You guys don't have Amaya." Finn commented. Rachel frowned.

"No, we don't. We were just going over to get her." Rachel said. Quinn's jaw dropped.

"What the fuck?" she asked. Rachel raised an eyebrow at Quinn's rare use of profanity.

"We were just there. They said someone had already come to get Amaya." Quinn explained. Rachel's jaw dropped.

"That can't be right." She broke into a jog, and headed over to Anne.

"Anne, where's Amaya?" She asked.

"You'll have to speak to Courtney dear, she's in charge of the babies under six months." Anne explained, pointing out a woman in her mid 20s with sandy blonde hair. They hurried over.

"Excuse me, where is my daughter?" Rachel demanded. Courtney looked her up and down, before noticing Quinn.

"Look, I already told you, somebody came to get her." She said.

"Who came and got her? We're the only four authorised to take Amaya anywhere." Noah snapped.

"She was wearing a cheerleading uniform. She said that you asked her to get the baby, so I just handed her over."

"Brittany or Santana?" Finn asked. Rachel and Quinn whipped phones out, and called them.

"Neither of them has her. What the hell is going on?" Quinn asked.

"Boys and girls, there is no fire danger. Return to class immediately. I repeat; there is no fire danger. Return to class immediately." Principal Figgens voice echoed over the speakers. Teachers began to shepherd students back towards the school building.

"Come on guys, time to move in." Mr Schue said. He caught sight of their faces.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Amaya is missing. Some cheerleader came to get her from here, and now we have no idea where she is." Finn said. Mr. Schue's eyes widened. Ms. Pillsbury joined them.

"Come on guys, lets go straight to Figgens office." He said.

* * *

"Well, what would you like me to do?" Figgens asked. Rachel's jaw dropped. They had just relayed the whole story to Mr. Figgens and that was all he had to say. She looked at Mr. Schue, lost for words.

"Come on, I'll take you straight to the police department." Mr. Schuester said. Ms. Pillsbury shot Figgens a look, daring him to challenge what had just said. When Figgens failed to do a thing, they quickly followed Mr. Schue out of the room.

"Get in guys." Will said. They weren't even buckled in when Will took off, careless of the speed limit. They rushed into the main office of Lima P.D and headed straight to the main desk.

"My name is Will Schuester, and I'm a teacher at William McKinley High School. On behalf of my students, I'd like to report a missing person."

* * *

**Oooh! Cliffhanger! I'm so mean! I promise there won't be such a huge break between the next update! Yes, it is short, but I wanted to give you something!**

**Blame Sassy26 for this…she demanded angst, and this is what I come up with. I promised the characters that it was hurting me more than it was hurting them hehe… feel free to vent at me via reviews!**


	28. Chapter 28

**I'm sorry about the cliffie! I've always wanted to do it, and now its done, so I won't have the urge to do it again... I hope**

**How about I do some resolving for you? **

**I don't own...duh!**

The atmosphere was tense. They had already relayed the whole story of what happened with Amaya to the police, and the officer in charge of their case was currently on the phone with the school, attempting to get hold of any records that might be relevant. Rachel observed the room. Carole was running a soothing hand over Finn's arm, Daddy was stroking Quinn's hair as she sobbed, Dad was on the phone, trying to find out what legal rights the students had, and Deborah was pacing the length of the corridor. Rachel was perched on Noah's lap, her fingers kneading into the ball of tension between his shoulders. Her stomach tightened. She wasn't surprised that the police were unable to give them many updates. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. She looked down at her phone.

"I'm sure Wemma weren't supposed to let us sneak out the front gate, but we're on our way now. Kisses" Rachel couldn't help the sad smile that crept onto her face.

"The Gleeks are on their way."Rachel said quietly. Everyone in the room looked up at her, and then resumed what they had been doing. Rachel took Noah's head in her hands and tilted his head up to hers.

"Everything is going to be ok. I promise you that baby."She whispered fiercely before pressing a kiss on his mouth.

"How are you so ok?"He asked her. Rachel considered what he'd asked for a second.

"I'm ok because I have to be. What good is falling apart going to do for me, or for Amaya? If the police came out right now and needed to speak to one of us, it isn't going to help her if we're all too emotional to help them." Rachel replied. The look on Noah's face made it pretty obvious he didn't get it. Rachel let her fingers settle back between his shoulders and soothe away the stress he was carrying there. Everybody looked up as they heard the door that led away from the waiting room swing open.

"Apparently that fire alarm was a prank. Also, according to the rolls taken during post evacuation, Marcy Gibson, Hank Azimio, and Carly Simpson had all left the school premise some time after homeroom but before the evacuation."The police officer explained. Rachel shook her head in disbelief, meeting the eyes of Quinn. This had totally crossed the line.

"Marcy has somewhat of a vendetta against me. She's a shameless bully, and because of my complaints, her boyfriend was expelled from the school. She warned me this wouldn't be over. Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that she'd go for my daughter." Rachel groaned. She felt Noah's hand rub against the small of her back soothingly. Quinn pulled her address book out of her school bag.

"That's every single Cheerios home address. If they're not there, they're probably at the Boatshed."Quinn explained. The police officer took it gratefully.

"We'll keep you up to date on any leads." He said, heading out the door with his partner.

"I am so sorry guys. This is my fault."Rachel gasped out. Quinn stood up and came over to squeeze her hands.

"Don't blame yourself. It won't help. It is not your fault that Marcy is psychotic."She said. Rachel smiled. The door swung open. The rest of the Glee club flooded in.

"Sorry we took so long, but Santana decided that you guys would need to stuff your feelings." Kurt said. Santana smiled apologetically and held up the bags of food she'd grabbed from the local Japanese place. Sushi was one of Quinn's favourite foods, and now she could eat it without hurting anybody, she was having it two or three times a week.

"You need to eat. You're useless to us passed out."Santana said firmly. Quinn nodded and bit into a California roll. Rachel sighed when she felt the heaviness of her chest. Amaya would have been due for a feed an hour ago. The door swung open. Rachel was almost relieved when she smelt the familiar smokiness in the air.

"I would have been here sooner but I had to talk my way out of a speeding ticket."Jimi said. She looked at Rachel and opened her arms. Rachel hesitated momentarily, and then let Jimi wrap her in a warm embrace as she began to sob into her neck. Jimi guided them both over to a chair, and began to gently stroke Rachel's hair as she whispered to her soothingly. Deborah observed the look on her son's face, and came over and sat with him.

"Don't let it get to you Noah; she's been holding it together for you."Deborah whispered to him. He managed to tear his eyes away from Rachel and Jimi and nodded stiffly.

"This might be a bad time to ask, but can I at least see the ring?"Jimi said. Rachel shook her head and forced a smile onto her face.

"No, no, it's cool."She replied, and held her hand out.

"Oh sweet Lord, it actually is an engagement ring, isn't it?" Mercedes said. Rachel nodded.

"Yeah, I've been wearing it for a month now. You guys really didn't notice?"She said.

"Oh no, we noticed, but we didn't say anything unless it actually wasn't an engagement ring, but yes, we definitely saw the bling. This is such a bad time, but congratulations!"Tina said, getting up to hug Noah and then Rachel. In the midst of all the hugging and congratulating, Rachel moved over to Noah and slipped her arms through one of his. She kissed his arm.

"I love you."She whispered. For a moment, the pain that was etched on his features disappeared and he smiled back at her.

"I know." He whispered back, pressing a kiss to her forehead. The door opened yet again.

"You guys have no idea how much interference I had to run with Figgins. I'm incredibly proud."Will said. He and Emma walked through the door. Emma sat down between Quinn and Rachel.

"Any news?"She asked. Quinn nodded and sniffled.

"Apparently Marcy, her friend Carly and Azimio all left school at some point between homeroom and the fire alarm, and the fire alarm was pulled as a prank. The police are checking all the Cheerios houses now."Quinn explained. Emma nodded and patted her shoulder soothingly. Jesse looked up from his Blackberry.

"Well, according to Marcy's Facebook page, she has an older sister named Courtney. Does she look familiar?"He asked, handing the phone to Finn. The four parents observed the screen.

"That's the girl we had to go see after the evacuation."Noah breathed. All the pieces were falling into place. Rachel looked over at Jimi, lost for words. She unconsciously reached out for Noah's hand and squeezed it tightly. She watched as her dad walked over to the counter and informed the police officer there of what they'd just realised. Rachel moved back to Noah's lap and resumed her rhythmic circles on his back with her nails. They stayed like that for an hour.

* * *

Everybody looked up when the door swung open. The police officer who had been in charge of their case walked in, holding a squalling bundle. Quinn leapt up and grabbed Amaya off him. Rachel froze when she saw Marcy walk through the door. Santana started muttering murderously in Spanish under her breath, and Mercedes cracked her knuckles viciously. Jimi took in Rachel's posture.

"Rach, babe, its ok."Jimi said cautiously.

"It's not ok."Rachel said fiercely, her voice so low it was barely audible. Quinn eyed Rachel carefully and handed Amaya over to Finn's bearlike arms. Santana and Brittany exchanged stormy looks before linking pinkies.

"Nothing will be ok until I choke the life out of her."She growled, pushing her way through the bodies, and launching herself onto Marcy. Rachel had moved so suddenly that she managed to knock Marcy to the ground and got several good hits on Marcy's face before Noah and Jimi pulled her away with some difficulty.

"You are fucked in the head, you psychotic bitch! You hate us, fine, but how dare you take anything out on my daughter! I hope you rot in hell you sadistic whore!"Quinn bellowed. After seeing Rachel's reaction, something truly feral was unleashed in Quinn. Careless of the fact that she was in a dress, or that she'd just had major surgery, Quinn began to move towards Marcy, screaming abuse that sounded foreign coming from her pink lips. It was only through the combined efforts of Mike, Mercedes and Tina that Quinn hadn't managed to smother Marcy.

Everyone was so busy trying to restrain the mothers that they hadn't noticed Brittany and Santana. They quickly unlinked fingers and dove on Marcy, who'd only just managed to stand up again. Brittany quickly moved to Marcy's head, ripping out a chunk of greasy hair and a ratty hair extension while giving Santana the opening she needed to rake crimson nail marks across Marcy's cheek, before barely restraining the urge to spit in her face.

"Alright, that is enough!"The head police officer called out. It took several seconds for the girls to be subdued.

"I want every single type of legal action we can push against them to be pushed. Throw the damn book at them." Noah said harshly, placing himself as a barrier between Amaya and Rachel and Marcy. The police officer nodded and pushed a bruised and bleeding Marcy through to the interview room.

Deborah quickly took Amaya in her arms and began to check her over.

"She's not burning up. From what I can gather, she just needs a big feed, a bath and a diaper change. Be grateful kids, this could have gone badly wrong." Deborah said. She kissed Amaya's forehead. Quinn looked at Rachel.

"It's your turn to feed her."She said quietly.

"Are you sure?"Rachel asked. Quinn nodded.

"She's your daughter too."Quinn replied. Rachel nodded, before taking Amaya from Deborah and sitting in the uncomfortable chair of the waiting room and beginning to feed the baby. She smiled when Noah sat down next to her and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Quinn insisted on giving Amaya a bath as soon as they stepped foot in the door. It was well into the evening when they got home, and they were all exhausted. Rachel flopped down onto the bed with a groan.

"I never, ever want to live through anything like that again."Rachel groaned. Noah looked up from unlacing his shoes.

"You seemed to get by ok."He commented. Rachel frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean?"She asked.

"It means that you seemed to cope a little better than the rest of us, at least until Jimi got there."He replied bitterly. Rachel sat up abruptly.

"So you wanted me to sob hysterically on your shoulder the whole time? Noah, I was barely holding it together, and the reason I did was because I knew you wouldn't be able to cope with me being a mess when you were too! So yeah, when I saw Jimi, she saw through the facade, but that was because I LET her. I had every intention of letting you see how scared I was, but I was going to let you see it after we knew Amaya was ok!"Rachel snapped.

"You thought that I wasn't man enough to cope with it? Come on Rachel, what's the real reason here? You just don't trust me like you trust Jimi!"Noah argued back. Rachel blinked several times.

"You have got to be kidding me. I don't trust you? I would have thought that the ring on my finger suggested otherwise."She said in an acidic whisper. She picked up her handbag and the baby monitor, and stormed out of the room. She marched through the pool house to the back door of her parents' place, before climbing the stairs to her childhood bedroom, where she collapsed on the bed and cried.

* * *

Quinn knocked on Rachel and Noah's door. After a few seconds she walked in and saw Noah sitting on the edge of the bed, clad in tracksuit pants and a white wifebeater. She sat down next to him.

"Oh Pucky Puck, what did you do?"She asked. Noah looked up at her.

"Why do you assume it's my fault?"He asked. Quinn laughed.

"Girl code. It's always the man's fault. Now what happened?" she asked. Noah shook his head.

"Rachel was the only one who kept it together today, right. And because I'm me, and because I'm an ass, I got jealous that when she freaked, she didn't freak to me. I got jealous because she let Jimi hold the pieces together, and not me."He said, after a few minutes of contemplation. Quinn shook her head lightly and patted his shoulder gently.

"This is Rachel Berry you're talking about Noah. Of course she didn't freak out to you! This is the same Rachel Berry that managed to keep two years of severe bullying completely under wraps from her parents, performed perhaps the most classic song on Broadway with less than an hour's notice and destroyed the competition at Regionals with a busted hand. She doesn't like being a burden to anybody, and she certainly doesn't like her personal drama getting in the way of other people who need her more."Quinn said. Noah laughed bitterly.

"You know when you're aware of things, but you don't really acknowledge that you know it. This is a perfect situation. Instead of me knowing that's just how Rachel rolls and dealing with it, I accused her of not trusting me." He said. Quinn groaned softly.

"I know, I know, I put my foot in it. You don't need to tell me."He added.

"You know what you need to do then."Quinn said. He nodded.

* * *

After ensuring Amaya was asleep and not burning up, Noah made his way up to Rachel's room. He knocked on the door, and stood in the doorway to see Rachel curled up on her bed, teddy bear in her embrace and the _Evita_ soundtrack playing softly in the background.

"I'm sorry."He said quietly. Rachel looked up. He came in and sat down on the chair opposite her bed.

"You don't have to be the strong one."He added. Rachel frowned and sat up.

"I know you, Rachel Barbara Berry. You're always the strong one. You hold other people up when they can't hold themselves. But you don't always have to do that Rachel. Please, just once, let me be strong for you." Noah said urgently. Rachel looked at him with shiny eyes and launched herself into his embrace. She broke into heaving; aching sobs that left Noah's neck and chest soaked with salty tears.

"I was so scared today. There was no way we could lose her. All I wanted was to do this, but I knew that I had to keep it together for everyone's sakes."She mumbled. Noah pressed desperate kisses to her face and neck.

"That is where you're wrong baby. Nobody would have judged you for not being put together. If anybody has the right to fall apart when some psycho decides hiding a baby would be a good prank, it's that baby's mother."Noah said into her hair. Rachel pulled back and studied Noah's face carefully.

"I trust you."She said resolutely. She kissed his lips firmly.

"I love you."She added, placing a kiss on the tip of his nose.

"I love you too."He replied, gently kissing the ring on her finger before using her hand to gently pull her onto her bed to prove exactly how much he loved her.

* * *

**Many thanks to beautiful Sassy26 for her help with the catfight scene!**


	29. Chapter 29

**And we're back to the happy writing that I do best!**

**I don't own, obviously, because if I did, New Directions would have placed at Regionals (Aural Intensity? Thats what she said!), Finn wouldn't have declared his undying love to Rachel(WTF is all I have to say about that!) and Shelby's storyline would have, I don't know, had a point? (I won't get into a vent about how much I disliked their ending... but really, how is Rachel changed from having met her mother?)**

* * *

Lazy Saturday afternoons were Rachel's favourite. She'd had a productive morning; having got up reasonably early, worked out on the cross trainer and been to her singing lesson. By the time she was home Finn had already left for the lunch shift at the restaurant, Quinn left Rachel a fed and sleeping Amaya, before stealing Rachel's car keys and driving to the local gym for her post caesarean personal training sessions (paid for by Jesse and Malcolm, who were aware that one; Quinn had just had major surgery and they didn't want her to push herself too hard when she was starting to exercise again, and two; Quinn's body had undergone major changes post baby and they wanted to build her self esteem). Rachel enjoyed a quick late lunch with Noah before he too headed back to the jobsite.

"Well principessa, it's just you and me." Rachel said to Amaya, whom had just woken from her nap. Amaya blinked up at Rachel and sucked on her fingers. Rachel laughed and scooped her up.

"Come on darling. It's never too early to educate you on the wonder that is musical theatre." Rachel said. She quickly spread out a blanket on the floor and laid Amaya down, before popping in a DVD and joining her.

"Now pumpkin, this is _The Sound of Music_. It's a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. But don't fret, I promise I won't let either one of your daddies be mean like this daddy here, ok? I promise that you're going to live in a house full of music, and people who adore you, and if you're really lucky, mommy and I will throw in a few siblings as well. Are you ok with that?" Rachel asked her. Amaya made a gurgling noise as she experimented with flailing her arms around. Rachel reached out to Amaya's little hand and let her latch onto her finger. Rachel sat up, and smiled down at her little girl.

"You're going to be absolutely stunning Amaya. It doesn't matter whose eyes you get, because they'll be lovely either way. Hopefully you get mommy's pretty hair though, and daddy's skin tone." Rachel looked at the baby fondly.

"When it comes down to it, Raindrop, none of that stuff is important. I pray to whomever is listening that you get mommy Quinn's convictions, because goodness knows that it was only because she was so sure of what is right that you're lying here kiddo. I pray that you get daddy Finn's optimism, and his determination to see the very best in everybody around him, and oh baby girl, I pray so hard that you'll get your daddy Noah's heart of gold." Rachel stopped for a moment, and gathered her thoughts.

"I know this means nothing to you bubba, you're barely six weeks old, and all you can hear is the sound of my voice, and not what it means, but right here princess, I promise that no matter what, I will love you until the day I die, and all I want for your life is for you to be happy, and for you to be the best that you can be. You got that?" She said, before gently raining kisses on her baby's face. Rachel picked the baby up, and carefully laid them both on the couch, positioning them chest-to-chest, Amaya's head gently tilted to the side.

* * *

Rachel's attention was stolen from the Captain admitting his love for Maria when Amaya started to cry.

"Ooh, ok Missy. You've got my attention, and I think somebody needs a diaper change." Rachel said. She stood up and carried Amaya to her bedroom. She quickly stripped the baby off and began to change her.

"There you go my love. You're all clean again." Rachel said. She began to play This Little Piggy with Amaya's toes. Rachel looked out the window.

"I wonder what time it is. I think your parents have bailed on us." Rachel said playfully. She picked up the baby and went and checked the time on the microwave.

"Well, that's ok. Mommy will be home soon-ish, and in about two hours daddy Finn and Daddy Noah will both be home, and they'll be demanding food just as strongly as you do at three am. But that's ok. Let's see if there's something we can start making for dinner, shall we?" Rachel asked her daughter. Rachel clipped Amaya into the baby rocker and placed it on the kitchen table before beginning to rummage through the refrigerator.

"Now you can be honest with me babe, because you'll end up eating this as well, but what are your thoughts on mommy roasting up some chicken and vegetables? I'll even do some gravy with it." Rachel asked the baby.

"That sounds awesome." Quinn called out from the hallway. She walked into the kitchen, sweaty and pink cheeked. Rachel grinned.

"Well, you're home now. You get to help." Rachel replied. Quinn stuck her tongue out.

"Let me shower and I'd be glad to!" She replied. Rachel nodded. Amaya piped up and reminded the girls that she needed feeding much more regularly than an adult. Rachel swooped down and picked her up and sat down to watch more of the _Sound of Music_ as she fed the baby and put her back down for another nap.

* * *

Quinn and Rachel worked quickly on dinner, and they were just deciding on whether or not they would make a dessert when both the boys broke through the door.

"What smells so good?" Noah called out. He pressed a kiss to Rachel's forehead.

"Hello to you too. What smells so good is dinner. Now get in the shower before you cancel it out with your man sweat. And be quiet! Amaya is sleeping." Rachel replied. Noah nodded at Rachel's nagging good naturedly and walked down the hall to the bathroom.

"Hi Finn." Quinn said. Finn smiled.

"Hey." He replied, before twisting and cracking his back.

"Rough day at the office?" Rachel asked. He nodded.

"It was really busy. We had four parties of twenty, and two of those were the customers from hell." He explained. Quinn nodded sympathetically and brushed her hand across his shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

* * *

The young parents had to hand it to her; Amaya was certainly well trained when it came to waking up. She began to wail right as Finn stood to clear the plates. Quinn hurried to Amaya's room to tend to the baby, and the other three quickly began to clean up after dinner.

"Hey guys, I'm changing Amaya's diaper now, so rather than undressing her twice, does someone want to run her bath now?" Quinn called out. Noah put the last of the plates in the dishwasher and headed towards the bathroom.

"On it Quinn!" He called out in reply.

Rachel stood at the doorway and watched. She was filled with a sense of joy that even her extensive vocabulary couldn't describe as she watched Noah bath Amaya. She had to bite her lip to keep from saying anything when Amaya began to whimper, and Noah began to quietly sing to her.

_Somewhere over the rainbow  
Way up high,  
There's a land that I heard of  
Once in a lullaby. _

Somewhere over the rainbow  
Skies are blue,  
And the dreams that you dare to dream  
Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star  
And wake up where the clouds are far  
Behind me.  
Where troubles melt like lemon drops  
Away above the chimney tops  
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow  
Bluebirds fly.  
Birds fly over the rainbow.  
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly  
Beyond the rainbow  
Why, oh why can't I?

Rachel clapped quietly.

"You amaze me." She said simply, walking into the bathroom. She perched herself on the edge of the bathtub and watched as Noah bathed Amaya in the freestanding baby bath.

"I love the both of you so much." Noah said softly. Rachel smiled and stood up next to him. She pressed a kiss on his arm (she wasn't going to risk jumping to reach his cheek and bumping him while Amaya was in the water- Rachel had read all the studies on how easy it was for babies to drown) and picked Amaya's towel up to hand to Noah as he carefully lifted the baby out of the water and wrapped her in the towel. She followed Noah into Amaya's room and watched him dry the baby off carefully; give Amaya her nightly massage with baby lotion. He gently applied ointment to Amaya's developing diaper rash, before putting on a clean diaper and dressing her in a white onesie.

"She's just your whole world, isn't she?" Rachel asked quietly. Noah beckoned for Rachel to pick the baby up and follow him. He quickly hung up Amaya's towel and then walked into their bedroom. Rachel raised an eyebrow at him when he used their pillows to prop himself into a comfortable half sitting, half lying position.

"Come here babe." He said, patting the space between his legs. Rachel nodded, and cautiously manoeuvred herself into a sitting position next to Noah without bumping the baby around. She propped the baby up against her chest, and leaned against Noah. She looked up at him.

"Any reason for this?" She asked. He pressed a kiss to her lips.

"Not really. I just wanted to hold both my girls at once." He replied. Rachel smiled and rested her head against his shoulder, her forehead comfortably against the crook of Noah's neck.

"Best part of my day." He sighed quietly.

"Really?" Rachel asked. Noah nodded seriously.

"Work sucked today. It was tedious, and that jackass Tim that I work with kept mouthing off about how getting a girl pregnant young ruins her life and the life of the kid." He said. Rachel had elbowed him in the ribs for swearing around the baby, but looked up at him with concern when he finished his story.

"Really? Oh, baby, I'm sorry he was such a jerk." Rachel soothed him, kissing the underside of his jaw.

"Come on babe, we knew what we were signing up for. People will judge us constantly for this. I really don't care what he thinks. Every other guy I work with doesn't have a problem with me being a parent, and my boss had his first kid when he was eighteen, so whatever. I've got the two of you, and I'm totally happy with my life." Noah said with conviction. Rachel smiled.

"Glad you feel that way. Keep in mind that I'm a little psychic babe, so if you even consider leaving, I'll castrate you with my straightening iron." Rachel teased. Noah froze. Rachel mentally kicked herself.

"And Rachel Berry puts her foot in it again. God baby, I'm sorry. I know you're not going to walk out on us. I'm sorry I even made a joke about it." Rachel said urgently. He kissed her forehead.

"It's ok baby. You're stuck with me for life." He replied.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Rachel replied.

* * *

The four parents had fallen into a pretty steady routine. Either Rachel or Quinn would get up to feed Amaya in the early hours of the morning, and then Finn and Noah would get her dressed for school (the school board had made big promises about keeping Amaya and all the other babies safe, and so far they'd delivered), while the girls got themselves ready. Rachel groaned when she saw Amaya one morning.

"Oh my god Noah, she is not wearing that to school." She said. Noah frowned and looked down at Amaya who was in a baby sized Supergirl outfit.

"Are you kidding me? Her outfit is way awesome. She's like, a baby superhero." Noah replied, before picking Amaya up, swinging her bib around so it was on her back and demonstrated Amaya flying through the air.

"Its way cool. She's Superkid. Powers of sonic crying and acid baby puke." He added. Finn and Quinn walked in and saw Amaya's outfit.

"Dude, she looks awesome!" Finn said, giving Noah a high five.

"Quinn, she's in a Halloween costume. Tell me you see how ridiculous this is!" Rachel said. Quinn nodded fervently.

"Crap! We're going to be late." Finn said, pointing to the time. They quickly loaded into the car and Noah drove them off to school.

"Now baby, if you happen to puke or poop all over that outfit, it's totally fine. Mommy and I won't be mad at you." Quinn said soothingly to Amaya.

"Not even a little bit. In fact, we might just eat some chocolate for you if you do, sweetheart." Rachel added. Noah rolled his eyes at them through the rear view window.

* * *

Finn had picked Amaya up that afternoon, and she was sitting comfortably in his arms during Glee rehearsal. They were to continuing to rehearse twice a week, but it was more about having fun and companionship than being ready for any sort of performance or competition.

"Hey guys, big news!" Mr. Schue called out as he walked into the room.

"As you know, graduation is coming up," he started. They did know. Glee would be losing Finn, Noah, Matt and Mike as a result. Thankfully, the junior high's glee club was quite strong and Mr. Schue was sure that replacements would be found in the incoming freshman.

"Well, I just came out of Figgins' office, and he's decided that he wants us to perform two numbers for the ceremony." Schue announced. He started passing around sheet music.

"Oh dear. Mr. Schue, surely we can do something a little more original than Green Day and Vitamin C?" Mercedes asked.

"These songs are so cliché, they're done at every graduation known to mankind." Kurt added.

"And let me guess, you guys have a better idea?" Mr. Schue said.

"Well, of course we do. We figured we'd probably perform at graduation anyway, so we've already picked songs, and Kurt and Mercedes are onto costumes." Santana replied, pulling the sheet music from her folder and handing it over to Mr. Schue. He flipped through it briefly.

"Looks good to me guys. Matt, Mike, Finn, Noah, take a look. This is your graduation; we want you to be happy with these songs too." Mr. Schue said.

"We're cool with it Mr. Schue. Let's go out with a bang, right?" Mike said.

"Awesome, well, because you guys apparently have it all figured out, I'll take Amaya off your hands, Finn; and you guys can take me through what you've got." Mr. Schue said. Finn nodded, and stood up and handed the baby over.

"I have a question. Why the hell is my niece wearing a Halloween costume? It's April." Kurt said.

"And that Kurt, is the $64 000 question. Noah was in charge of dressing Amaya this morning." Quinn explained. Kurt shook his head and squeezed the bridge of his nose.

"She's Superkid. Back off, she looks way awesome." Noah defended himself, and accepting a high five off Tina.

"Ok Brad, take it away!" Santana called out, changing the subject abruptly as they began to work through their graduation numbers.

* * *

Rachel had managed to convince the school authorities that Amaya's delicate hearing shouldn't be subjected to the din of the cafeteria, and as such, she'd pushed for the Glee club to be able to take their lunches into the choir room. Quinn sat burping Amaya, who had recently discovered how to hold her own head up, and as such took great pleasure in looking around the room whenever possible as they ate lunch and discussed body art.

"Look, I have to be honest; I don't have a problem with like, little tattoos on girls. I'd get a few, especially if it was in memoriam of something that really means a lot to me, like the first show I do on Broadway, or the first movie I'm in that's nominated for an Oscar. But if or when I ever get them, I'm going to get them in places that can be covered by costumes or something, so I don't like, miss out on acting jobs because I'm too inked." Rachel said.

"I totally can't wait til I'm eighteen. I'm getting a cross here." Santana said, demonstrating to the small of her back.

"I could never work a tramp stamp." Tina commented. Santana frowned.

"San, you totally could because, you're like, dirty hot, like that chick on _Grey's Anatomy_. I'm with Rachel though; I'd get a few little ones. I really like tattoos on your ribcage." Tina added.

"I love those!" Quinn added.

"Your thoughts boys?" Mercedes asked.

"It depends on the person I guess. I'd probably get one, but yeah, like something that means something, not like a tattoo of my favourite baseball team's logo or stupid shit like that. My boss has a tattoo of all the names of his kids, and that's kinda cool. If I were to get anything, I'd get something like that." Noah said. Finn nodded in agreement. Rachel nodded thoughtfully, and accepted Amaya off Quinn so that Quinn could have lunch. Rachel realised that Amaya was in need of a diaper change, but she passed her off to Noah, and played innocent.

"I'm gonna take Amaya back now and get her changed and settled." Noah announced, before picking up the baby bag and heading out of the room.

"Ok, I timed that perfectly. Here's the deal, kids; Noah's eighteen next Sunday, and I'd really like to have a surprise dinner for him. I've already invited our parents, and now I'm extending all your invites. I'm taking Noah out in the afternoon, so you guys need to be at our house for 5.30pm, so that you're there and ready for us to arrive at 6pm. Please don't mention this to him, and please don't park near the house, because if he sees cars he'll suspect something." Rachel explained, before pulling out invites from her handbag and giving them to everyone.

"Jimi's already got an invite, but I told her that she has to be at our place for 5pm, so that she'll actually be on time, so please don't tell her otherwise." Rachel said to Santana. Santana winked and nodded.

"No problems Rachel. I'll even make sure that she comes to my house first, so that I can make sure she's ready to go on time." Santana added. The bell for class rang, and the group quickly headed off to class.

* * *

It was after ten when Rachel woke Noah up on Sunday. She slid into bed next to him, wearing only his football jersey, and gently began to kiss his face.

"Good morning old man." She teased him, before kissing him fully on the mouth. She slid her leg over him settled herself on his lap.

"Come on Grandpa; let's see if you've still got it." She taunted suggestively, before he flipped their positions and kissed her fully.

* * *

"So where exactly are we going?" Noah asked. He was seated in the passenger's seat of Rachel's car as they left his mom's house after they had gone to see his mom and sister for his birthday.

"You'll find out when we get there. The point of the blindfold is that you're surprised baby, so just chill out and let me surprise you." Rachel replied.

"Aw, come on Rach, can I at least have a clue?" Noah asked with a pout. Rachel laughed.

"Sorry babe; that pout doesn't work without the puppy dog eyes, but just because it's your birthday, I'll give you one hint. The place we're going requires me to drive to get us there." Rachel replied. Noah groaned.

"What kind of clue is that?" He asked. Rachel giggled.

"It's the only kind of clue you're getting. Just accept that I've taken it upon myself to do something special for you today. Please, don't ruin my brilliance by guessing, because it's a truly genius plan, isn't it Amaya?" Rachel said, looking at the baby through the revision mirror, who was happily sucking her fingers, and looking at the tiny mobile attached to the car seat. Rachel reached over and squeezed Noah's hand.

"I want you to have an amazing birthday baby." She said. Noah smiled.

"It's been awesome Rach. I'm getting to hang out with my two beautiful girls. The only thing that would make it better is knowing where the heck I'm going" Noah replied. Rachel giggled.

"Well, that's easy, because, we're here." She said, pulling into a park and killing the engine.

"You can remove your blindfold babe." Rachel said. Noah took it off and looked around.

"Where are we?" He asked. Rachel grinned.

"All a part of the surprise." Rachel said. She made quick work of putting Amaya into the baby pouch and grabbed his hand.

"Now follow me." Rachel said. She led him down the street before finally stopping at the local tattoo parlour.

"Now, you can totally veto this right here and now, but I thought it would be a kind of cool idea to get you a tattoo for your eighteenth birthday. We had that conversation the other day, and it gave me the idea. I went and spoke to the Japanese club, and I got them to write down Amaya in Japanese. You don't have to if you don't want to, but if you do, then I have an appointment booked for you in ten minutes." Rachel said. Noah nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Babe, this is like, the coolest present ever." He said with a huge grin.

"So you like it?" Rachel asked. He nodded.

"Heck yes I do! Do you have that Amaya's name thing with you?" He asked. Rachel nodded and pulled a sheet of paper out of her handbag. Noah grabbed it and took a look at it. He nodded and grabbed Rachel's hand and they headed into the store.

"Hi, my name is Rachel Berry. I made an appointment for Noah Puckerman last week." Rachel said. The heavily tattooed and pierced receptionist with a badge that said 'Hi, I'm Alice' looked at her appointment book.

"Yep, no problems. Head on through dude, second door on the right. Sorry ma'am, but the rooms are tiny; you probably won't fit, so I'll get you to wait out here." She said to Rachel. Rachel nodded.

"Have fun babe." Rachel said, pecking his lips lightly before he headed through. She waited for him to go through the doorway before she turned to the assistant.

"Can I fix up the cost of that now?" Rachel asked.

"I'll have to check on how big it is, but that shouldn't be a problem." Alice replied. Rachel nodded. She saw a display of various body piercings, and she began to take a look at the belly bars she saw there.

"So that will be $150." Alice called out. Rachel nodded and walked up to the desk.

"Can I put that on credit?" Rachel asked, pulling out her wallet. Alice smiled and started putting through the payment.

"So how old is she?" She asked.

"She is almost two months old." Rachel replied proudly.

"Wow, you're looking good for two months after the birth." Alice commented. Rachel smiled ruefully.

"What's her name?"

"Her name is Amaya." Rachel replied. Sensing the next question, she added;

"It's Japanese. It means night rain."

"Wow, that's really cool. Is that the Kanji that her dad is getting?"Alice asked. Rachel nodded.

"Yep. I'll get it myself in a few years time." Rachel replied. Alice moved around and took a seat on the counter. Rachel noticed her baby bump then.

"So how'd you come up with a name like Amaya?" She asked.

"Well, Amaya's dad's best friend decided a few months into the pregnancy that Drizzle would be a totally awesome name for the baby. He claimed it was unique and poetic." Rachel giggled at Alice's face.

"Yeah, I know. It was never an option, but we humoured him. The night she was born he was there, as was my best friend, and when we finally met her, it was obvious none of the name's we'd picked suited her, so thank you to the iPhone name meanings app, I searched the meaning rain and Amaya is what we came up with." Rachel added; impressed with the amended story she's just told.

"I'm having a boy. My partner's mom is all, give him a family name; so my poor kid would end up being Philmore the third, and I'm sorry, but that makes me want to beat him up. He totally needs badass name." Alice commented.

"Well, then, I advise the name meanings app. How far along are you?" Rachel asked. They discussed various pregnancy aspects until Noah came out. He flipped his phone out and showed Rachel a picture of his newly tattooed inner bicep.

"Ooh, babe, that's really hot!" Rachel said. She smiled at Alice.

"Best of luck with everything!" She said as they left the store. Noah slung his not tattooed arm around Rachel when they walked out.

"So what's the plan for the rest of the day?" He asked.

"What makes you think I have a plan for the rest of the day?" Rachel asked. Noah raised an eyebrow at her. Rachel checked her watch discreetly.

"Ok, well, Amaya's going to need a feed soon, so why don't we go grab a coffee before we head off? I'll even let you pick where we go." Rachel suggested teasingly. Noah nodded and began to lead Rachel down the street. He got them a booth at the local chocolate cafe.

"I don't want to hear a thing about your vocal cords. It's my birthday and I want to split a chocolate pizza with my girl. Is that ok?" He teased. Rachel shrugged.

"What's one day going to do?" She asked.

* * *

In a show of pefect timing, Amaya began to whimper right as they asked for the bill. Rachel quickly slipped the waitress her credit card, and fixed the bill up.

"Sorry babe, but she needs a feed. Do you mind waiting?" Rachel asked as they walked back to the car.

"No, we'll drive home with a screaming kid. Course its cool Rach." Noah replied. Rachel smiled, and quickly sat in the backseat and began to feed the baby.

"So, are you having a good birthday?" Rachel asked.

"It's so not the birthday I expected to have, but yeah, it's definitely a good birthday." He answered.

"Did you have something that you wanted to happen?" Rachel asked.

"This time last year, I expected not to remember my birthday, cause it was just gonna be a massive booze up. But clearly, my priorities have changed a little." He replied. He caught sight of her face.

"Don't stress babe, this is much better." He assured her, leaning over to kiss her forehead. Rachel smiled.

"I'm glad." She looked over at the clock on the dashboard.

"Ok. Amaya just needs to be burped and we can head on home." She said.

* * *

Rachel discreetly checked that nobody had parked on the street as she headed up the driveway. Noah's phone buzzed, and he answered.

"Babe, I'm just going to take Amaya on through, ok?" She said. She quickly pulled the sleeping baby out of her carseat. She powered through to the backyard.

"He's on his way." She gasped out, as she headed to Amaya's room to put her down, lest she be disturbed by the shouting. She laid the baby down on her back carefully, grabbed the baby monitor and headed back out to the obviously Kurt decorated patio.

"Sorry babe; that was one of the guys from work, asking about..." Noah trailed off as he headed through the back gate.

"SURPRISE!" The party shouted out. Rachel giggled at Noah's face of surprise. She headed forward and hugged him.

"Sorry babe, I couldn't resist." She said. She played the dutiful fiancé and smiled and took photos as Noah greeted everyone. She slipped away quietly and began to help Quinn with the food.

"Ok, I figure we lay it on out, and people will take what they like." Quinn suggested. Rachel nodded.

"Done. I'm not doing anything fancier than that. Thanks for taking care of the food." Rachel said. Quinn shrugged.

"It was fun. Mercedes used her epic party planning contacts to get food; I just had to put it all together." Quinn replied.

"All the same, thanks." Rachel said, putting down a platter of chicken and cracking open a can of Sprite.

"So did he like the present?" Tina asked. Rachel nodded.

"He loved it. He got it done on his bicep. Its covered right now, but he's got a photo on his phone." Rachel replied. She smiled when she heard Quinn shout out that dinner was ready.

"Ok, now that everybody is fed and watered, can we please do presents now?" Kurt asked. When nobody gave him a distinct answer, he shoved Noah down on a seat.

* * *

"Ok people, gather round!" He called out. He took his present from the gift table.

"I had a feeling you'd probably die if I took you clothes shopping, so I got you this instead." Kurt said. Noah tore the paper away, privately anxious about what he might see.

"That is awesome!" He breathed. Kurt had gotten him a limited edition framed James Bond wall mount. Tina and Artie had gotten him a new hard case for his acoustic, and a guitar strap. Matt, Mike and Mercedes had thrown in to get him season tickets for the football stadium at Dayton for the next season. Santana, Brittany and Jimi got him a watch, which, as Brittany had assured him, was the real deal, and not something they'd gotten from a vending machine.

"And this is a gift from Malcolm and I, as well as your mom and Carole as well." Jesse explained. Noah carefully pulled back the wrapping on the huge box that was on the table. He unlatched the case and pulled out the contents reverentially.

"It's a Fender Strat." He breathed, holding the electric guitar like it was made of glass.

"You lucky bastard." Jimi commented.

"That is a work of art." Artie added longingly.

"And this is our gift." Finn added, wheeling out an amp with a large silver bow on top of it. Noah carefully put the guitar back in its case.

"You guys are awesome. Thank you all so much." He said, before going around hugging everybody thank you.

* * *

Rachel felt Noah climb into bed next to her that night and pull her against him.

"Best birthday ever." He mumbled against her hair. She smiled and rolled over to face him.

"Really?" She asked. He nodded and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Really." He replied, before flicking off the lamp next to their bed and kissing his way down her neck.

* * *

**We're almost at the end! I can't believe it!**

**Let me know your thoughts! xxx**


	30. Chapter 30

**I can't believe it! This is the very last chapter of **_**Every Inch Of My Love!**_** This has come so far from what was originally a one shot in January.**

**Ok, I think we've established that I don't own Glee… I'll stick with Jimi and the name Amaya, I think!

* * *

**

"Are you sure you're ok with this? Like one hundred percent sure?" Noah asked. Rachel raised an eyebrow at him and fluffed her pillow and looked up at him.

"I'm fine with this. You're the one that seems to have the problem." She said. Rachel sat up on the bed and started to fold the shirts Noah was tossing haphazardly into an overnight bag. Noah went to speak, and Rachel cut him off abruptly.

"Noah. Listen to me. You booked this holiday at the start of your senior year. If you don't stop moping and asking me if I'm ok with it, I will kick your ass personally." Rachel said firmly. She pulled him for a kiss.

"Half the reason we thought this situation would work was because we wanted to be able to maintain our lifestyles. Yes, we're parents, but we're still people. So stop worrying. Quinn and I will be fine with Amaya for a few days." Rachel said firmly. She smiled when Noah kissed her again.

"Ok. But I'll have my phone with me, so I'll call you." He said. Rachel frowned.

"Don't feel like you have to baby. I want you to have a good weekend, and I don't want you to be the one stuck on his phone all weekend because of his psycho girlfriend, ok?" Rachel said. Noah nodded. Rachel grinned and lay back onto the bed.

"Psycho fiancé" Noah corrected. Rachel shrugged.

"Whatever" she teased.

"What do you even do on a boys weekend?" Rachel asked. Noah smirked.

"We're going paintballing and camping." He said. Rachel wrinkled her nose.

"Please don't get hit in the face. You have a very nice nose; I'd be really upset if it got ruined." Rachel requested. Noah smiled, and moved his bag to the ground. He lay on the bed and pulled Rachel into his arms.

"I think you're underestimating my badassness." He growled playfully, before raining kisses on her face and neck. Rachel nodded and hitched her leg around his hip.

"I am, I really am." She gasped out. She felt his hand slip up under her shirt.

"I guess I'll have to show you otherwise." He said. Rachel nodded furiously and pulled him into a searing kiss.

* * *

Rachel and Quinn waved as Noah and Finn drove off.

"Was Noah all, oh, I don't know if I should go, I can stay if you want me to." Quinn asked. Rachel nodded.

"Yeah. It's kind of cute." Rachel said. Quinn shrugged and nodded. They headed back inside and sat down on the couch.

"This is weird." Rachel commented. Quinn nodded.

"It's like old times." Quinn replied. They sat quietly for a few seconds.

"We can totally get junk food and not get judged for it" Quinn declared.

"I'm totally feeling _Bridget Jones_" Rachel added.

"Go!" Quinn declared. She ran for the phone, and Rachel headed to get Amaya, who had begun to cry from her room. Rachel quickly fed and changed the baby.

"Ok, well, I figured we can stop in at the pizza parlour and order and pay for it now, and get it delivered for dinner." Quinn said. Rachel nodded.

"Sounds good to me." She said, picking Amaya up and heading out to the car.

* * *

Rachel rolled her eyes as she and Quinn picked up their enviro bags of snacks.

"I can't freaking stand the way that people treat us because we have a baby." Rachel groaned. Quinn clipped Amaya into her baby seat.

"Come on Rach, that's life. I'd be jealous because we're still young and hot and we have the world's cutest baby as well." Quinn placated Rachel gently. Rachel shrugged.

"I guess." She said, before climbing into the driver's seat of the car so that they could head to the pizza parlour to order their pizza.

* * *

Rachel and Quinn spread out on the couches; both stuffed full of junk food, with Amaya safely nestled in her baby rocker between them on the floor. Rachel groaned loudly when the credits of _Bridget Jones _began to roll on the screen.

"I can't be bothered to move." She mumbled. Quinn frowned at the TV screen.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked.

"I'm changing the DVD with the power of my mind." Quinn replied. Rachel burst into laughter, and fell off the couch when a snort slipped out.

"You're up! You so have to change it!" Quinn hollered. Rachel rolled her eyes and crawled her way to the TV. She swapped the DVD over to the BBC version of _Pride and Prejudice_ and stooped to pick up Amaya as she settled back down on the couch.

"I miss this." Quinn commented. Rachel looked over at her.

"Just us. Don't get me wrong, I love living with the boys, and I really love having Amaya, but I loved when it was just the two of us." Quinn said. Rachel nodded.

"I know exactly what you mean. It was so much fun when it was just us. Living with the boys and Amaya is just a different fun, but it doesn't mean I don't sometimes miss the old days." Rachel said. Quinn nodded.

"Agreed. That's why I'm so glad that we managed to convince the boys that they had to go on their weird guy weekend." Quinn said. Rachel giggled.

"Weird is right. Who thinks camping and paintballing is actually enjoyable?" She asked. Quinn shrugged.

"Beats me. Ooh! He's about to call her barely tolerable!"

* * *

In a case of perfect timing, the DVD needed to be swapped over and the pizza arrived at the same time. Rachel ran to the door for the pizza with a grizzling and hungry Amaya on her hip. She opened the door halfway and smiled at the pizza boy, who preceded to oogle her I-need-to-feed-my-baby-right-now chest. Rachel rolled her eyes and opened the door the whole way, and held in a giggle as the guy unconsciously leaned away from the door. She slipped him a tip and grabbed the pizza off him and shut the door in his face.

"Have a nice night perv." Rachel grumbled at the door. She smiled down at Amaya.

"It's ok honey. It's alright. I'll just put my dinner down, and I'll give you yours. It's all good baby." Rachel soothed Amaya gently. She put the pizza box down on the coffee table and sat down and quickly began to feed Amaya. Quinn looked over at Rachel.

"Do you care if I start eating?" Quinn asked. Rachel shrugged.

"Fine by me." Rachel said. Quinn hit play on the DVD and bit into a slice of pizza. Rachel finished feeding the baby and handed her over to Quinn.

"This is a good system." Quinn commented. Rachel nodded.

"Agreed." Rachel said through a mouthful of pizza.

* * *

Rachel groaned and rolled over. At first she was excited about being able to sprawl out in bed and not get told off for stealing the blankets, but now she realised that she was actually used to having someone sleep next to her, and now that she was alone, the bed felt huge and cold. Even moving Noah's pillows so they rested next to her wasn't working. Rachel sighed and climbed out of bed. She jumped when her feet hit the cold ground, and she quickly made her way through the house. She snuck into Quinn's room and stopped in the doorway. Quinn looked up from burping Amaya.

"Can't sleep?" She asked. Rachel nodded fervently. Quinn smiled.

"Me either." Quinn admitted. Rachel bit her lip hesitantly.

"Suggestion?" Rachel asked. Quinn shrugged.

"We move Amaya's crib out into the living room, and we stay out there on the sofa bed." Rachel said. Quinn nodded.

"Sounds good to me." Rachel grinned, and skipped out to the living room, making quick work of moving Amaya's bassinet and setting up the sofa bed. Quinn wandered out into the living room with Amaya wrapped up like a burrito baby (Brittany's terminology, nobody else's). She carefully put Amaya in the bassinet and plonked herself down next to Rachel.

"Let's stick with Austen."Quinn said. Rachel nodded.

"My thoughts exactly."Rachel said, as the opening scene of _Clueless _began to play.

* * *

Finn and Noah stumbled into the house on Sunday afternoon. Finn quickly shushed Noah when they got into the living room. Rachel and Quinn were sound asleep on the sofa bed in the exact same positions, Amaya wrapped up firmly and resting between them. Amaya was waking up, and Finn rushed in to scoop her up before her cries had the chance to wake her mothers.

"You got her?"Noah asked. Finn nodded.

"Well, I'm gonna go take a shower before Rachel gets up. She'll freak if she sees me covered in gunk."He said quietly, gesturing to the paint, mud, grass and possibly blood all over him. Finn nodded.

"No problems."He said. Finn grabbed the remote and changed the channel from whatever girly stuff the girls had been watching before they crashed to a sports channel. Amaya began to fuss and he quickly stood to soothe her.

"It's ok, Finn, I think she needs the kind of help that only I can give."Rachel said sleepily. She held her arms out and accepted Amaya off of Finn. She smirked when Finn turned away so she could sort out feeding Amaya.

"It's ok Finn, you can look."Rachel said. Finn looked away from the blank wall and over at Rachel.

"Why are you guys sleeping out here? It's like, 2pm. Neither of you ever sleep that late."Finn asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Neither of us could sleep because we're used to having somebody in the bed next to us. We figured we'd share a bed out here, but somehow it turned into let's consume our body weight in cookie dough and ice cream and watch movies based on Jane Austen books. We crashed at about 6am, and we've been tag teaming looking after Amaya since." Rachel explained. Finn nodded.

"So how was the weekend?"She asked. Finn shrugged.

"It started pretty good. Then one of the guys decided to test out whether or not you could live on stuff that you found growing, ate some funky mushrooms, spaced out for a while and then vomited his guts up for hours on end. We had to pack up and take him to the emergency room." Finn explained. Rachel wrinkled her nose.

"That is nasty."She said. She quickly swapped Amaya over and kept feeding.

"It's all good. Puck and I were talking about it on the way home; it was cool to hang out with the guys and all, but neither of us really has much in common with them anymore."Finn said.

"I know that feeling. Santana, Brittany and Tina are the only girls I dance with that really get where I'm at in my life right now."Rachel said. Quinn groaned and stretched before sitting up.

"Hey Finn."She said blearily.

"You're back early."She commented after he kissed her cheek hello. He nodded.

"Long story. It ends with one of the guys in emergency cause he ate something he shouldn't have. Want more details?" Finn asked. Quinn cringed and shook her head. She grinned when she heard the bathroom door open and she quickly skidded off to brush her teeth. Rachel handed Amaya to Finn to be burped, and she too scooted to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She frowned when she saw the pile of dirty clothes on the floor. She rolled her eyes and walked into her bedroom.

"Noah, can you please go pick up all your clothes?"Rachel asked. She caught sight of her fiancé dressed in a pair of low slung jeans and gasped.

"Baby, what happened to you?"She asked, aghast. She moved across the room and gently traced the large purple welts that littered his torso.

"You know how paintballing works, right?"Noah asked. Rachel shrugged.

"I've seen it in _10 Things I Hate About You._" She answered, before pressing a soft kiss to a particularly nasty bruise that sat just underneath his ribcage.

"That's not real paintballing. We paintballed with guns, like you're supposed to. Don't worry, I wore head gear."He assured her. Rachel's eyes widened and she pouted slightly.

"If I'd had any idea of what was going to happen, I would have been more concerned about you."Rachel said. Noah pulled her into an embrace, hiding his wince when she hit a few of his bruises.

"And that's why I didn't tell you. I love you Rach, but you need to chill. I'm not made of glass."Noah said. Rachel frowned.

"So I'm supposed to be ok with you intentionally hurting yourself?"She asked.

"Have you looked at your feet lately? Babe, I don't particularly enjoy seeing you come home busted up from dancing, but I don't say anything about it because I know how much it means to you." He said. Rachel looked up at him and sighed.

"Agree to disagree?"She asked. He nodded and kissed her firmly.

"I missed you."He said against her lips. Rachel nodded and pushed him against the bed.

"I want to inspect every one of those bruises."She said firmly, before running soft fingers down his chest.

* * *

"I love the last week of school."Quinn commented, before finishing the final few curls in her hair and adjusting the straps of her pale blue sundress. Rachel nodded in agreement before putting on mascara.

"You sure I'm not going to get nailed for dress code in this?"Rachel asked, gesturing to the red and white polka dot playsuit she was wearing.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now go add that cute white belt to it!"Quinn said. Rachel nodded. Her flip flops clicked against the tiled floor as she headed from room to room. She quickly grabbed her belt and put it on, picked up her handbag and headed into the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Amaya dressed in an outfit of her choosing (a flowered shirt with small birds embroidered on the front, with frilled pink shorts underneath) and stuck a straw in the banana smoothie that Finn, the smoothie making champion, had placed on the table. She checked the watch on her wrist, and pulled the cooler bags filled with the lunches she'd prepared the night before out of the refrigerator.

"Guys, we should probably head off soon!"She called out. Finn and Noah emerged from their bedrooms, fully dressed, and Quinn sauntered into the kitchen, sipping her own banana smoothie. They headed to the car, arguing playfully.

"Rachel, are you SURE you won't help us with any pranks?" Finn asked. Rachel shook her head.

"I'm very sure. Any pranks I've played in the past have been in the context of friendship, but I'm not helping you two wreak havoc across the school. I'm quite certain that your chromosomally challenged teammates will be able to do that all by themselves." Rachel said primly. She opened the car door and stepped out, bringing her handbag with her. Quinn unbuckled Amaya and Finn carried the baby bag. The four of them headed in through the main entrance of the school. It was chaos.

"Oh. My. God."Rachel murmured, looking over the top of her white Jackie O style glasses. It was chaos. There was toilet paper hanging from the roof, silly string being sprayed everywhere and the sounds of an unnamed R'n'B group being played through the speakers. Rachel jumped when a random chicken half flew and half scuttled past her.

"I'm really glad you didn't help Rachel. This is bad."Quinn said, carefully shielding the baby from flying debris. They rushed through the hallways and dropped Amaya off, smiling at Anne's assurances that the babies would be fine in the midst of today's prank pulling. They burst into giggles when they saw the awkward way that Kurt backed out of the bathroom.

"Someone put dishwashing liquid in the toilets. It's so wrong."He gasped. Quinn's eyebrows shot up and Rachel's jaw dropped.

"You're kidding! Why do I think that the pranks are going to go too far today?" Rachel asked. She gasped as Noah shoved her against the lockers and crushed his body up against her. Then she saw slushie all over the floor, and instantly understood why.

"I have no idea why you'd think that."Quinn commented, before flicking silly string off of Finn's shoulder.

* * *

The gleeks had never been more grateful to have a rehearsal called. By hanging out in the auditorium, they were shielded not only from the pranks, but also from being associated with anybody pulling the pranks. Mr. Schue had been kind enough to let Rachel sneak away in the last few minutes of class to go get Amaya, who was now chilling out with Uncle Matt. Nobody was brave enough to leave the room for lunch, so they were sitting together on the stage eating.

"Rachel, are you sure eating berries isn't like, cannibalism?" Brittany asked seriously. Rachel looked at the strawberry in her hand, and then back up at Brittany.

"Yeah, I'm sure Britt."Rachel replied. Brittany heaved a sigh of relief.

"Good."She said.

* * *

"Are you nervous?"Rachel asked. She, Quinn, Finn and Noah were on their way to Finn and Noah's graduation. It was strange being in the car without Amaya; who was coming later with Rachel and Quinn's dads.

"Nope. Why should I be?"Finn asked. His tense hands on the steering wheel suggested otherwise.

"I can't wait. Because we're performing, we miss the lame performances, and I only have to wear the dorky hat when I'm getting the diploma."Noah said. Rachel rolled her eyes at him. Quinn spied the red light.

"Ok, quick, everybody lean in!"She called out, before snapping a picture of them driving. Finn pulled up at school and they headed into the auditorium. They made their way backstage and saw the production line for hair and makeup that had been formed.

"Ok, Finn, Noah, you need to go hang out with Schuester and do boy things. Quinn, Rachel, you know the drill. Down to your underwear and line up for hair and makeup."Kurt ordered. The boys hung their costume bags up and headed out to find the other Glee guys. Rachel and Quinn did as they were told, and sat down and allowed the other girls to get to work on their hair and makeup.

* * *

Following warm ups and a quick run on the stage with full lighting, there was really nothing for the glee club to do but sit in the wings silently. They listened to the inane preamble by Principal Figgins (sure, not many people listened to the guy at a normal assembly, but that didn't mean that he could ramble incessantly at an occasion like this), and then for some inexplicable reason, Sue Sylvester got up and spoke for twenty minutes about how cheerleading would save the world. Rachel rested her head on the palm of her hand as she restrained from groaning loudly. She perked up when she heard Mr. Schuester take the mike. They quietly filed onstage and took their first positions.

The short speech that Mr. Schuester gave about Glee club's achievements this year was touching, and from the looks exchanged across the stage, the original Gleeks were determined to kill this performance, not only for the teacher who'd fought hell and high water for them, but for the guys whose last performance with them would be today.

The familiar thrill of performance rushed through Rachel's stomach when she heard the curtains begin to open. She sat at the table onstage and fiddled with one of the huge cocktail glasses that Santana had bought to 'create the mood' (she'd choreographed this baby, and it was awesome, if Rachel did say so herself)and Rachel hid her grin when she saw the boys onstage out of the corner of her eye. Matt started the singing:

_What is somebody like you doin' in a place like this?_

_Say did you come alone or did you bring all your friends?_

Mike adjusted his fedora and began to harmonise with Matt

_Say __what's your name? What you drinking?_

_I think I know __what you thinking_

The boys began to sing together, adjusting their hats and suspenders as they approached the girls sitting at the table

_Baby __what's your sign,_

_tell me yours and I'll tell you mine_

_Say What is someone like you doin' in a place like this?_

The girls stood to find their partners in synch with Artie's counting

_One, Two, Three, Four_

The group broke into cha cha moves for the chorus

_**I'll never be the same**_

_**If we ever meet again**_

_**Won't let you get away**_

_**If we ever meet again**_

_**This freefall, oh, got me so, oh**_

_**Kiss**__** me all night,**_

_**Don't**__** ever let me go**_

_**I'll**__** never be the same**_

_**If**__** we ever meet again**_

The girls pushed the boys over into their seats, and took on their verse

Rachel fluttered her eyelashes at Noah as she sang

_Do you come here much?_

_I swear I've seen your face before_

_You don't see me blush_

_but I can't help to want you more, more_

She linked arms with Santana and Mercedes as they began to harmonise together

_Baby tell me whats your story?_

_I ain't shy, don't you worry_

Quinn winked as she sang

_I'm flirting with my eyes_

The girls began to harmonise and left Mercedes to take the wailer note at the end of the song

_I wanna leave with you tonight_

_do you come here much?_

_I've gotta see your face some more_

_(some more cause baby I..)_

The boys approached the girls and they began to dance together

_**I'll never be the same**_

_**If we ever meet again**_

_**Won't let you get away**_

_**If we ever meet again**_

_**This free fall, oh got me so, oh**_

_**Kiss**__** me all night,**_

_**Don't**__** ever let me go**_

_**I'll**__** never be the same**_

_**If**__** we ever meet again**_

Rachel and Mercedes began to harmonise over the group

_**If we ever meet again,**_

_**I'll have so much more to say**_

_**(Say if we ever meet again)**_

_**If we ever meet again, again**_

_**I won't let you go away**_

_**(Say if we ever meet again)**_

_**If we ever, ever meet again**_

_**I'll have so much more to say**_

_**(Say if we ever meet again)**_

_**If we ever, ever meet again**_

_**I won't let you go away!**_

They all swapped partners at this point, making it clear to the audience that this group wasn't just about romantic relationships, but it was obvious they really treated each other as family.

_**I'll never be the same**_

_**If we ever meet again**_

_**Won't let you get away**_

_**If we ever meet again**_

_**This free fall, oh got me so oh**_

_**Kiss**__** me all night,**_

_**Don't**__** ever let me go**_

_**I'll**__** never be the same**_

_**If**__** we ever meet again**_

_**I'll never be the same**_

_**If we ever meet again**_

_**Won't let you get away**_

_**If we ever meet again**_

_**This free fall, oh got me so, oh**_

_**Kiss**__** me all night,**_

_**Don't**__** ever let me go**_

_**I'll**__** never be the same**_

_**If**__** we ever meet again**_

They all smiled and bowed for the applause. They quickly changed positions for the next song. They all sang together, and made the piece far more about having fun, and awesome dance moves, rather than making one person the star.

_**We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong  
Remembered forever as shoo-bop sha whada whadda yippidy boom da boom  
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop that's the way it should be  
Waooo Yeah**_

The group ran to the front of the stage, raising their hands before bringing them down on the yeah__

_**We're one of a kind like dip da dip da dip do whap de dobby do  
Our names are signed boogedy boogedy boogedy boogedy shooby do wap shoo bop  
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop we'll always be like one  
Wa-wa-wa-one**_

Half the group moved down into the aisles and kept singing and dancing, Brittany throwing several handless cartwheels as she went.__

_**When we go out a night (oh-h oh)  
And stars are shining bright (oh-h, oh)  
Up in the skies above  
Or at the high school dance  
Where you can find romance maybe it might be lo-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uve  
**_

The members of the group that had been offstage quickly ran back up, and the grins on their faces grew even wider when the audience cheered and gasped at all the stunts and lifts they were doing.

_**Ramma lamma lamma ka dingity ding da dong  
Shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yippity boom da boom**_

Santana and Brittany tossed Quinn into a double flip that she landed with a grin

_**Chang chang changity chang shoo bop  
Dip da dip da dip do wop da dooby do  
Boogy boogy boogy boogy shooby sho wap sho wap**_

Mercedes teasingly lifted Kurt well above her head in a feat that drew huge amounts of applause

_**Sha na na na na na na na yippity dip da do  
Ramma lamma lamma ka dingity ding da dong  
Shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yippity boom sha boom  
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop  
Yip da dip da dip shoo bopp sha dooby do**_

Noah, Matt and Mike lifted Rachel, Santana and Brittany into lifts that swung the girls up and over their heads and then spun them into a circle_**  
Boogedy boogedy boogedy boogedy shooby do wap sho bop  
Sha na na na na na na na yippity dip da do**_

Matt, Mike, Brittany, Santana and Quinn spread out and backflipped across the stage

_**A womp bop a looma a womp bam boom**_

The group formed a semi circle and swayed as they sang the next part__

_**We're for each other like womp bop a looma a womp bam boom  
Just like my brother is sha na na na na na na na yippity dip da do  
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop we'll always be together  
Waooo Yeah!**_

In the style of Grease, the group spread out in two lines and allowed couples to come up two at a time to have their time to wave to the audience.__

_**We'll always be together**_

Artie and Tina came up first, Tina curtseying before pushing Artie away

_**We'll always be together**_

Mercedes and Kurt came up next, the pair of them blowing kisses to the audience_**  
**_

_**We'll always be together**_

Brittany and Santana sauntered up together, before hooking pinkies, and both lifting their legs up and above their heads

_**We'll always be together**_

Quinn and Finn headed up together, waving before Finn picked Quinn up bridal style and walking away before nearly tripping over

_**We'll always be together**_

Matt and Mike came up together, before both throwing matching one handed handstands to the screams of the audience_**  
**_

_**We'll always be together**_

Rachel and Noah came up together, waving to the audience before Noah picked Rachel up and plunked her firmly on his shoulder

The group came together, linking arms before singing the last line they'd ever sing together as a club_**  
**_

_**We'll always be together**_

They took their moment in the spotlight and bowed together. Their time together as a group was ending, but they'd definitely gone out with a bang, like they'd always intended.

* * *

Rachel had never cheered so hard in her life when Noah went and accepted his high school diploma. She'd been unable to keep the smile off her face in photos afterwards, and she'd been happy to hug a crying Deborah (who'd quietly confessed that she'd never imagined that Noah would live past seventeen with his rash behaviour, let alone graduate high school, and be engaged with a baby).

Amaya was having her first sleepover with Grandma Carole, and Finn, Quinn, Noah and Rachel were on their way to a Gleeks only graduation party at Mike's.

As they sat around the sure to be illegal bonfire, singing along to Artie's guitar playing, Rachel took a look up at the night sky and thanked whoever was listening. Her life was nowhere near what she'd written down in her diary as part of her five year plan over eighteen months ago, but she was pretty damn chuffed with how it was panning out. She was eternally grateful that Quinn suggested she pair those rose embroidered Doc Martens with that Led Zeppelin song.

* * *

**I can't believe I'm typing this, but**

_**Fin.**_

**Thank you so much to all those who stuck with me the whole way through this! I love you so much! This is the first fanfic I've ever finished, and I'm pretty darn happy with how its gone. Please look out for any of my future works **

**Also, to all those who've read but never reviewed, it would mean the world to me if you'd let me know of what you thought of the story as a whole!**

**Much love  
**

**Brooke**


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